30 Candles

The thought of turning 30 had me filled with dread, well, the day I turned 29 last year. I don't know what it was about that age that made me feel like my life was a ticking time bomb with the numbers ever getting closer to zero. Admittedly, I sort of turned into a narcissistic drama-queen about the whole thing.

Thankfully (during one of my "I can't believe I'm turning 30 rants") a wise person, whom I look up to very much, told me that she felt that the 30s were the best years of her life. Thankfully she told me this several weeks before my 30th birthday. Something about this comment completely changed my outlook on this milestone birthday in a matter of minutes. I started asking those who had already lived through their 30s if they felt the same way and the general consensus was YES! (Except for my mom--she said her best years were her 40s. Bonus! Something else to look forward to!)

So now, rather than feeling dread, I feel grateful. 30 isn't an age in which you suddenly aren't allowed to live a fulfilled life anymore, or an age by which you must accomplish an insane amount of goals or they don't count (although, I do feel like I accomplished a lot in my twenties.) It is a jumping off point to live the rest of my life, set by the bounderies that I decide. I think by this age, too, I am less concerned what others think of me. I feel like I am finally figuring out who I am and who I want to become (though I don't think this process ever stops entirely.) And maybe my brother is right afterall: Age is only a number.

So my 30th birthday has come and gone. Although I had to work, it was a very special day and I am so very thankful for everyone who contributed in making it such. Especially to Bean who, as S told me, went to a lot of effort to make my birthday cake all by herself (she's a prodigy, I tell ya'.)