Turning 30

I turned 30 years old last week.

I know people older than me will groan and continue to remind me that I’m still young, but the thing is, I feel different than I did in my 20s.

A part of me wants to talk about everything I learned in my 20s, from eating less sugar, drinking less alcohol and learning how to turn my weaknesses into strengths. Another part wants to talk about how my attitude shifted, from one of feeling lost and confused about my purpose to finding things and people I cared about and feeling a strong sense of determination to figure them out and to do my best. But I just don’t think that either one of those captures the experiences of an entire decade.

I think back on some of the mistakes I’ve made in my 20s and I just shake my head at myself. But I’m also really proud at the same time. While I did some dumb stuff, I think I learned a lot and this is why I’m cautiously optimistic about my 30s.

I find myself trusting my instinct. I find myself feeling more determined and trusting of my abilities so that I don’t second guess myself as often or freeze when I’m afraid.

I have 3,652 days in my 30s and I want to spend them with as much intention as I can muster. I want to make them count. I want to be as happy as I can be. I want to focus on my health, physical and mental, and continue to grow the relationship that I found with one of the most amazing men I have ever met. I feel like one of the luckiest people on the planet to lead the life I have now and to be able to continue living it.

I know I’ll make mistakes in my 30s, but here’s to hoping that they are entirely new mistakes and that they will lead to completely new lessons.