32

Hello, 32! Today I continue my long-held tradition of posting to my blog on my birthday. I couldn’t be more excited to enter my 32nd year, leaving behind 31, which was *womp womp* two thumbs down, LOL. After moving back home after living hours away and getting out of a toxic relationship, I am finally starting to see myself again in the mirror. I’d like to think that younger me would be proud of how far I’ve come after everything I’ve experienced. Thank God for new beginnings!

Today has been everything a peaceful birthday ought to be: enjoying a latte with a friend at my favorite coffee shop, buying new plants, texting with friends and family, eating cookies, and later, enjoying Thai food with my mom and sister.

In this next year, I want more life in my life: more community, more Jesus, more writing and creativity. I want to be online less (unless I’m working on this blog, of course, which somehow I have managed to keep returning to after all these years), to cook more, to run farther, and love deeper.🎈

Set my heart on fire immediately,

30

Today, I turn 30.

It feels odd to be embarking on the start of a new decade on a ho-hum Tuesday morning. 29 was easily the hardest year of my life and I'm hoping 30 will bring some much-needed peace. It's weird to be celebrating my birthday in the midst of a season of grief, but at least this year marks a new beginning.

I hope this next year, this next decade, is full of laughter, friendship, gardening, writing, creating, and Jesus. Also, music!

You can find all of my old birthday posts that I've been compiling since I was 21 here. (I can't believe I've kept the Birthday Post™ a tradition for so long!)

Till next year,

29

Today I'm 29. I almost forgot to write this post, because this blog isn't really a space I prioritize much anymore 😔, but as I've been doing birthday posts since I turned 21, so nearly all of my 20's, here I am. 

I feel like I am coming into a blessed new season of life. 

28 was probably the year I experienced the most change one possibly could. But I'm here on the other side of everything with the man I love, the job I enjoy, a little house in a tiny town that's closer to both our families, and I feel like life is really beginning. 

In this new season, in this last year of my 20's, I want to live life to the fullest.

I feel something significant about this last year before I turn 30. I'm going to be working on exciting projects and getting more tattoos and trying to put myself out there more. I want to walk closer with the Lord, write every day, not be afraid, to really see the beauty in each moment.

Some changes to my blogging journey will be coming soon, stay tuned for that if anyone's out there still, hehe.

I'm getting older, I think I'm aging well,

E

P.S. All the old birthday posts can be found here.

28

 Today I turn 28. This morning I woke up and on impulse, drove to my parents' house for breakfast. (Not me crying at "Wake Me Up When September Ends" on the drive over.) This morning was especially nostalgic because my parents are moving in a few weeks, and they're in the process of boxing up all their belongings. I am now two residences removed from this house, but I spent a good 15 years here, and it's crazy to think that it's not going to be in the family anymore.

Yesterday Peter and I went thrifting and I got my cartilage pierced. Tonight, we're going to a concert for my favorite band and I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!!

27 was just a crazy year. I met my husband, got engaged, and got married all in the span of like nine months. It's wild to me how much has changed from 26 to 27, and I can't even imagine what it will be like going from 27 to 28. I hope that this year holds a lot of fun creative projects, and that it brings me closer to the Lord in my walk with Him.

My old birthday posts can be found here (I can't believe I've been doing this for so long on the blog): 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21.

Still feeling like a smol emo child,

E

27

It's that time again, folks....

THE ANNUAL BIRTHDAY POST!

My 26th year, to say the least, has been insane. Obviously COVID has been raging for a large portion of it, which has made things #complicated, but even without that, 26 has been the year of insanity.

During my 26th year, I....

- Got out of a relationship
- Started dating someone new
- Quit my job
- Started working at an epic new job
- Moved out of my childhood home
- Moved into a cute cottage with my sister
- Finished writing a novel I'd been working on for years
- Started serving at church
- Went to therapy (which I can't recommend highly enough)
- Pierced my ears
- Pierced my nose
- Got health insurance
- Saw one of my favorite bands live (pre-COVID, lol)

Some of these are just fun things, but others have been Major Life Changes. During COVID. Send help.

Like, I'm not going to lie, some parts of 26 were really dark and difficult (read: March 2020). There have also been light spots (buying a PlayStation 4, friend dinners, meeting a cool human). But ultimately, this year has been the year of change. Maybe that's why I've tended to be more nostalgic lately. But! God is good. Even though I've had to get out of my comfort zone this year, I've grown a lot and it's rewarding to see how God used circumstances to grow me closer to Him. Heck yes!

This year for my birthday I just wanted to get off the grid a little, so my family and I hightailed it up to Ye Olde Writing Cabin to spend time in nature.

And eat cheesecake. That as well. I know the world isn't back to normal yet, and maybe things will be different for a while, but I feel strangely hopeful as I begin Day One of Year 27. And it's just nice to be with my family in a place of peace for a couple of days.

I can't believe I've been blogging long enough to have this many archived birthday posts, but if you want to peruse old ones, here they are: 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! I haven't blogged in a hot minute because of all of the aforementioned life changes, but I still love this space and hope all of you are doing well.

I'll try to write soon, maybe. If there's anything you want me to write about, let me know. And tell me how you are doing in the comments!

Is this the real life or is this just fantasy,

E

26

It's birthday #26, and I've never felt so...calm?

Usually, I'm awash in the glow of Birthday Magic,  but this year I just feel kind of relaxed.

This morning I opened a letter to myself at 26 that I wrote when I was 21. I was struck while reading it by just how much I didn't know. I guess that is always the case - how could I know what was coming? I had to learn the hard way, by going through those years. But I look back and feel now as if I have learned. That even though the person I was at 21 feels, in some ways, very different from who I am at 26, that both versions of me are valid and there will be other versions yet to come.

Like, even having this blog.

It's crazy to me that I've been able to maintain a blog for so long. Acoustic Erin was "birthed" in 2013, and I've been writing birthday posts since my 21st year. It's one thing to have journals, but to also have this blog, this record of who I am, is sort of like a time capsule. I kind of wish it was tangible, sometimes. That I could hold it and read it and put it on a shelf, because it's been such an important place to me for so many years.

So, welcome, 26!

Welcome, with all your level-headed calmness, and hope for the future. I don't know what songs I'll cling to this year, but it feels fitting to kick this year off with (what else?) Paramore's "26." I love when artists memorialize ages like that in their work. Adele's albums come to mind, and Switchfoot's "Twenty Four." Maybe one day I'll do that, too.

Old birthday posts can be found here: 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.

Already hungry for birthday cake,
E

25

When I was young, I wrote a letter to my 25-year-old self, to be read when I was older and wiser.

Yesterday, the day before my 25th birthday, I went looking for that letter, hoping to find musings from middle school me - but alas, no luck. What I did find, under my bed, in no particular order: Letters from campers, lunch box notes from my mom, a fuzzy stick-on mustache, old songwriting notebooks, doodles from high school friends, all of my old journals and an exclusive interview, written on my old typewriter, with my best friend from first grade. 

I have always suspected I had a hoarding problem, but this confirmed it.

Even though I don't know what my younger self had to say,  I do hope she would be proud.

I guess I always thought 25 was super adult, super mature. (To be fair, I resisted wearing the stick-on mustache.) So maybe we always think that we will have it more together at some future date. I've come to realize that everyone's always learning. 

One thing that hasn't changed at 25? My love for red velvet cake.

So far the lead-up to 25 has been wonderful: Outback with the family, pink vinyl, quiet weekend mornings, cups of green tea, surprise cupcakes (the best kind of cupcakes). 

And now, it's finally here.

LET'S DO THIS, 25.

Odes to 24, 23, 22, and 21 also available for your viewing pleasure in the archives.

But wait! I need your recommendations!

Y'all, I need all the recommendations for books and movies and music to listen to in September. Enlighten me with your knowledge! And thanks for reading!

24

Good morning, my people!

So today's the day. 24. Incredible! It's become a bit of a tradition for me to celebrate my birthday on the blog (see 21, 22, and 23 for reference), and this year is no different. Though I can't believe I'm 24(!), I'm super inspired to see how the Lord will change me and work in me this year.

"Behold, I am making all things new!"

One thing that I love about birthdays is that they signify a fresh start. In this 24th year, I want to put my past behind me, and move on to the glorious N E W things that the Lord has planned. I really want to make this year about growing Christlike character, creating, praying, and spending time in nature.

No song better to listen to on my birthday then Switchfoot's "24."

Dear Lord, let's make 24 a year of confidence, celebration in You, victory, and loving others with a full and open heart. Thank You for every second of my 24 years!