Turning 30

Tomorrow is my birthday. I hit what apparently is a milestone birthday. The big 3-0, the end of my 20s, the “old age”, twenty plus ten years. A new decade. A new beginning. A new number to preface other numbers with. The age in which you are completely responsible for your own actions and can't, in any way, shape, or form, blame it on your "turbulent twenties" or "being young."

I mean, I am still young. (30 is not old, let's make that very clear right now.) But I'm not on the coast-of-sure-I'll-"figure it all out at some point"-young. I'm a young grown up. Which explains the fact that to stay out past one, I feel like a zombie the next day. Though I still feel like the 16 year old school girl, and I hope to never let her die.

To me, age is just a number.  I’ve met a lot of mature and bright 17 year olds and I’ve met a lot of immature and ignorant 47 year olds.

Today, being on the cusp of 30, I am reflecting on the past years and feel content of what I’ve achieved so far. I had a sort of “bucket list” before I hit 30, and I am so proud to say that I have achieved most of those.

Skydiving, Bungee Jumping, River Rafting, Getting a tattoo, starting my own dance classes, owning a convertible, raising funds for dogs, hiking at midnight, camping under the stars, paid for someone else’s food, bought a house, made lots of friends along the journey, tonnes of laughter, gallons of sweat, buckets of tears….

 All in all, the last 3 decades of my life have been full of adventure, excitement, happiness, and hard work. A few items on my bucket list had to take a back seat. Like, Taj Mahal, partying all night at Vegas…. But hey, I had a baby along the way, which in itself is the biggest of all adventures.

I'm in a great place in my life and I'm so excited to turn 30. I wouldn't give back my twenties for anything. Although those years were fun, there were a lot of lessons I had to learn the hard way. I’m putting together a few lessons that I’ve learnt in my 30 rotations around the sun, and I hope to live my life by them.

1.     Never shop when you are hungry

2.     The most important person in your life is you. Love yourself

3.     Everyone wants to feel important. So don’t miss any opportunity to make your friends and family feel special.

4.     Take risks. You don’t want to be 90 and regret not doing so many things you wished you had. That’s it! Next thing, I’m climbing a mountain.

5.     Everything happens for a reason.

6.     If you want to achieve something, go for it. No one is stopping you. Take that first step and everything else will get easier

7.     Don’t take life too seriously.

8.     Life isn’t that complicated. We make it so. Let your world unwind and live free

9.     Be authentic. Let people love you for the crazy person that you are.

10.  It’s easier to say “No”, than you think.

11.  Volunteer.. A LOT. Make a difference in the world. Donate your time, money and effort.

12.  Buy handmade products. Encourage local talent

13.  Love everybody and everything around you. Hug people, smile at everybody and do wrong to none (at least, not intentionally)

14.  And most importantly, PARTY!

We are only guaranteed this one life, maybe there’s more after this but nobody knows for certain. Live this life, breathe the air in other places, hug your friends and your family and forgive those who you hold grudges against (maybe not all of them ;)), but certainly laugh at yourself and never hold back a tear. Age isn’t a definition of who you are, your outlook on life is. I feel happier, younger, and more excited about my life now than I did when I was 19 and that’s because I’ve had the fortune to be around the right people, learn the right lessons and grow each day.

Really looking forward to the next decade