Today is my birthday.
I feel a little weird knowing that it’s my first birthday in a while that I’m really kind of alone for. Granted, I’m also not complaining because I get the freedom today to do what I want, but it is a little quiet in my life right now.
The past few months, since July, I’ve struggled heavily with losing jobs, losing relationships, and really being purged of my old life. It was absolutely (and still is) the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with in my life, and that’s probably why today doesn’t feel so much like my birthday.
When thinking about turning 26 years old, in good Philly sports fashion, I named this my unofficial (or official) “Saquon Barkley year.” Barkley’s jersey number is 26, and fans usually do this with “Jordan year” when someone turns 23. But if you know anything about football, you know Saquon Barkley had an insane career comeback after joining the Philadelphia Eagles.
When he was on the New York Giants, especially towards the end, Barkley was not doing great. He had exceptional numbers, but that team did him dirty in multiple ways by not re-signing him, not fixing that disgraceful turf and by missing the playoffs.
But the year he went to the Philadelphia Eagles, he balled out. He had a career year that resulted in 13 touchdowns and 2,005 yards, doubling what he did a year prior with the Giants.
I don’t know too much about athletes, but I know being with a team for six years – especially a team that drafted you and basically made you their star player – hurts when they hear they’re no longer wanted in the organization. That’s exactly what the Giants did to Barkley, but they got their immediate karma for it. Barkley comes to the Eagles with a vengeance. He’s immediately accepted as one of their own despite being a rival the day prior, and the rest is history. I love his comeback story because he truly deserved it after putting up great numbers with a new team.
And I want to side step off of that to the Philadelphia Eagles themselves because that whole organization looks at challenges and handles them with ease. I would say it’s the product of Jalen Hurts, who will remain emotionless whether up by 40 or after throwing an interception. This kind of mindset just keeps the Eagles moving forward, or at least moving away from the situation that didn’t work.
This is kind of where I’m at. No job. No relationship. Barely any friends (for now, but shout out to Jhilly for creating a great girl group). I’m at a position where I can make a sick comeback. I’ve had months of depression, lost interest in all of my hobbies, and got really lazy. I’m not punishing myself for being lazy and not loving myself like I should, I’m acknowledging it and just continuing to make better decisions.
Now that I’m 26 and it’s my Saquon year, I’m primed for an insane comeback. I’ve been focusing on eating healthier and working out, so I really feel like by the time I turn 27 I’ll at least have it more figured out than I do now.
Though this is an alone kind of birthday, I like that I’m in a season of growing and coming back stronger.
First & Jenn 
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