millennial blog project

millennial blog project

I won’t sit idly by and watch my life pass before my eyes

A millennial’s coming-of-age story

My name is Emily and I’m 30 years old. I’ve been writing on this blog in fits and spurts since I was 14, originally as “Blackbyrd” on blackbyrd.wordpress.com. I’ve long been enamored by the written word and have scribbled poems and sonnets in countless notebooks since I was 7.

Today I’m a classically trained journalist who has built a successful career in corporate marketing. On this blog I write about my musings while traveling all over the world and riding my bike.

Welcome to my never-ending coming-of-age story.

Thanks for visiting!

  • The dreaded questions

    “What are you going to do?” “What are your plans?” …the dreaded questions people from high school asked me last Wednesday night as I slowly sipped my Labatt Blue Light. “I’d like to do this.” “I’ve applied to this place.” “I’ve interviewed at this other place.”  “I interned there.” “I’ll live at home, eat my parents’ food, feed Read more

  • An awkward wedding

    An awkward wedding

    I fell in love once.  “Trevor, will you marry me?” Five-year-old Emily asked. She had known him for years and really loved him. They played Barbies, basketball and dinosaurs together. Spent every minute together. Had sleepovers and played house. “You can’t marry your brother!!!!!” Trevor exclaimed in his squeaky, 9-year-old voice. Her future crumbled, breaking Read more

  • Your stereotypical Millennial

    Your stereotypical Millennial

    I live in short snippets of language, and not necessarily by choice. To save characters, I shorten “and” to its misunderstood fraternal twin brother, the ampersand: “&” (though their cousin, the pound key – “#” – is like the sexually confused misfit of the family). I take vwls t f wrds, realizing the words “out” Read more

  • Crying in front of Plassmann Hall

    My best friend here at school couldn’t believe it when I told her. Via text message, she whined and begged for me to stay. “I’ll stay if you can pay for it for me,” I tried to compromise. …she didn’t fall for that one. Her response made me feel sick. It made me realize how Read more

  • 365 days since Aug. 4, 2013

    Grandma was the one constant in my life. I changed, but she never did. She sat in her chair, in her house, read the paper, made simple dinners, called me, asked me to take her out shopping. That woman loved to shop. Even when her cane slowed her down and I became aggravated. I tried Read more

  • An abundance of positives

    An abundance of positives

    I’m excited. Because things often don’t come together so smoothly, so readily, so perfectly, so… so… <insert-another-adverb-here>. But many things have been lately. Like, uh, my internship. And other things I cannot disclose about said internship. All you need to know is this: everything is pretty friggin’ cool. Oh! And that road bike I recently Read more