30 feels like a lot of things. Tired. Proud. Beat up. Grateful.

My birthday was Wednesday, Dec. 13th. Yessie overwhelmed herself, but managed to execute, 30 surprises for my 30th birthday.

Monday- I went to get my hair cut and beard trimmed, because at 29 I was finally able to grow a meager one. I went to my barber downtown and we shot the shit and at the end let me know that I was already paid for. With a grin he handed me a letter from Yessie- "Head to Espresso Amano and ask for Kitty." Kitty greeted me, maybe more surprised and excited than I was. She handed me a coffee, vanilla latte (Yeah I'm basic like that, fuckers) and a burlap bag with something in it. I sat down by myself and opened the bag to find another letter, an envelope, and a notebook. The letter- take 30 minutes to yourself, relax, and enjoy your gift. I opened the envelope- black and white photos of my mom and the dogs. Yessie did a little photo shoot with them at my moms house. So at this point, I broke down in tears in the coffee shop as I sat there by myself. I had a rush of emotions- I felt thankful for:

-My barber and this random barista that were really excited to be a part of this little surprise.

-Yessie, who took all this time to set up this surprise and I know she had a blast doing what she loves (the photoshoot with the dogs).

-My mom...I don't know where to begin. In 30 years she's sacrificed so much for me...I wouldn't be who I am or where I am without her. Through thick and thin, dumb and wise, she's been there for me. I can't really put it into words-it's just unconditional love in its purest form. Thank you mom.

Wednesday- my birthday! My girls took me out for breakfast! ("my girls" - Alison, Lindsey, Rachel- my badass women who run shit at my gym) We took our time and ate and bitched and enjoyed each other's company. I went through a pretty normal day at work minus the gorilla head they got me to hang on the wall. Then 6pm rolled around and my brother and mom stopped by the gym to say hi. Then 630pm more people showed up (outside of their training days). So I got the feeling something was up, but didn't figure it out until my mom yelled at me- "LOOK AT THEIR SHIRTS JEEEEZZEEEE" Yessie, with Dave Tate and Dustin George's help, created a T-shirt design that was half my face and half an Indian chief with "TEAM WILLIAMS" on the back. Part of me was embarrassed and part of me was pumped. Here I am, in my gym, surrounded by some of my closest friends and family, with all of them wearing my face on their chest. It was just damn cool. To boot, Yessie had everyone bring in canned goods for my mom's church (to her surprise). AND (to my surprise) our gym raised $3000 for Make-a-Wish in two weeks. Fuckin' A guys- way to go. The night ended over food and drinks at the restaurant across from us.

Saturday- the jig was up. Yessie wanted to surprise me with this one but there were too many leaks at this point. Plus my friends were tired of celebrating my birthday. I wanted to visit Clint Darden who was  in Raleigh for a WSM competition. I was told I wasn't allowed to go and I don't usually like orders but my mom was backing Yessie on this one. So I was told we have to go to a whiskey tour on Saturday. A couple friends made some comments on Friday and I jokingly said "I'm sure I'll see you this weekend." So we pull into Threadbare, a new cider house downtown, low and behold Todd Hamer pulled in next to me. "Funny seeing you here Todd. Taking the 'tour'?" So, for all intents and purposes, Todd ruined the surprise. We walked into the private room, which was loud as hell with my friends and family pre-gaming the party. SURPRISE! I said- 'yeah yeah I knew you guys would be here too.' Yessie wasn't happy but quickly got over it. We had fun for the next four hours. We capped the night with this video:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/jVA_XPa8g8w]

I didn't cry during this, much. Maybe a little teary-eyed. But immediately afterward I turned around, choked out a few words, and just said "fuck it, cheers." I can't put into words what that meant to me- to have people that I really cherish give me those kind words and encouragement. College friends, childhood friends, teammates, and even guys that I've looked up to or admired for years.

Thank you Yessica Martinez. You outdid yourself on this one. I felt so loved and I feel grateful for you and everyone else in my life.

I'll leave you with this...

I'm fucking lucky, really fucking lucky. 2017 was a hard ass year, and a blessing in disguise. For anyone following this journey, I won't rehash it, but this is how I look at it: I've hit my stride. I know who I want in my life. I know what I want out of life. I still don't know where I'm going or where I'm going to end up, but I'm looking forward to new challenges. My family, that includes friends, are some badass people. They've been supportive through all of this, stepping up and stepping in wherever they can. I'll be back to smashing weights in the near future, I've just had a minor set back that's created a new set of challenges.

"A man takes things as a blessing or a curse, but a warrior sees only challenges."