As some of you may already know, I was welcomed into the 30 Club with open arms recently. And let me tell you, I am excited to be in the number! Honestly, however, I wasn't this hype months ago. See, for the last few months I had been torturing myself with this mental list of things I wanted to accomplish by the age of thirty. There was something about this proverbial list and these phantom expectations that had really been driving me up the wall. Why wasn't I already established in my career? Shouldn't I have accomplished waaaaay more at this point? That's what I had been asking myself repeatedly. I was reading self-help books, hoping to find an answer. I was even reconsidering my education (or seemingly lack thereof). After these never-ending dead-end searches, I finally decided enough was enough.
I began to think about a few of my loved ones who were not awarded the opportunity to even see this next decade. I looked in the faces of my smiling children and husband. Then I looked in the mirror and realized I was still here for a purpose. So I decided right then and there to stop lamenting over what I thought should be, and really show my appreciation and gratitude to the Good Lord for keeping me!
When thinking on those things, my arrival to the big 3-0 began to feel different. So in celebration, I spent time with my closest family + friends and spent a lot of time reflecting on what this next milestone in life meant for me. And since I'm such a chronic list maker, I started typing out a list on my tab in the middle of the night of all the things I'd be leaving in my twenties---not even considering the thought of a blog post or anything... Just some personal things I wanted to really let go of, so I could embrace who I am and who I am becoming. Below are a few of the items from that list....
