This will be my 30th year on this beautiful place we call Earth! I would be lying if I didn’t say that I’ve been having some mini mid-life crisis moments happening already (is a black sequin dress still an acceptable option?). The strange part is I have always felt 30 would be my YEAR! You know how there’s a specific age that you’ve always just resonated with? 30 is it for me. Even when I was younger I would always think about “when I’m 30” with a sense of peace and excitement.
There are a lot of things I’ve learned in 29 years. I can say that as I approach my 30th birthday, I’m happier with myself than I ever have been. All of the insecurities that plagued me in junior high, the inability to relate to others and form good friendships in high school, the lack of purposeful direction in college, those things have all been resolved (I almost can’t remember what it was like anymore). I’m proud of who I am, I’ve found my niche, I have my goals and dreams and actual steps in place to achieve them. But… 30…
33 is the age I remember most about my mother. Sometimes it scares me when I open up Facebook and see my friend’s mom’s face staring at me in a picture, but instead of her mom it is actually her! I look at pictures of us with our parents and see how much older our moms have gotten, how we’ve in some way replaced them and that is now our life. What used to be their faces are now ours. And, although we have much better style than our mothers ever did (amiright?!), the similarities are shocking. So I figured as I approach my 30th year I would share a few of my views of being 30 since this is the 30th year for many, many of my favorite people!
Why 30 is awesome!
1. I’m in my prime! What I wouldn’t give to have had the direction, purpose, and knowledge that I do now so many years ago. These are the best years because these are my years. I get to choose what I do with them.
2. Life is fun! When you gain confidence and purpose you can truly enjoy every moment. Life has never been as fun for me as it is right now! I finally get to explore it for myself.
3. I got what I always wanted! How many times did I tell my mom, “Just wait until I move out and have a family of my own!” Yeah, that time has come. So what am I going to do about it? I’m going to make it the best family I can, because it’s mine!
4. I look pretty freaking good! I have found my sense of self. I have found confidence and strength and nothing is better than that. I have found my own style apart from what all the “cool kids” wear. I am able to use my clothes as a statement of who I am rather than just trying to fit in. And, call me crazy, but there’s a beauty to getting older! When I look at celebrity’s pics side by side with their younger selves the older one always wins out. Always.
5. Laugh lines! For some reason as a child I always thought “eye crinkles” were the most beautiful thing on a woman’s face. When I started getting wrinkles and grey hairs it was gross to me. Then one morning my daughter touched my face and said, “I love your crinkles. I want some too.” And all the memories flooded back of being young and loving the kind eyes that stared at me behind the beautiful “eye crinkles” that I too used to say I wanted.
What I will do to make sure 30 stays awesome!
1. I will play every single day! Growing old doesn’t mean growing up. I can sleep when I’m dead right? I’m going to breathe in every beautiful moment of my time here. I will throw caution to the wind, forget what it looks like to others, I will do whatever I can to keep a sense of play deep inside the core of who I am!
2. I will only say “Yes” to the things I can’t imagine living without! I’m a grown woman now. No one makes my schedule but me. No one is allowed to take something from my life unless I give it. I will say “No” and not feel bad about it. I will fill my life with only the best things. If I’m going to drink I’m going to drink the good stuff, if I’m going to eat I’m choosing the steak and not the salad, if I’m giving my time to others it will be to those who are worth every second!
3. I will stay true to myself! If I’m going to wear something, say something, do something, it will be because it aligns with who I am and what I desire of my life. No one else will have more influence in my life than I will have myself. My life is based on my beliefs, my values, my desires, my calling. No matter what, I will not waver from these things.
30… It will be my best decade yet! I’m told it gets better and better with each one, and I believe it. Each decade brings us the chance to do the things that are most important to us, to find ourselves, to just be. There’s nothing “crisis worthy” about that. (And, yes, I did get the black sequin dress, and I rocked it!)
