Today is a big day. I turn 30 today. This is a day I have been both excited about and dreading for a while now. When I was going through my divorce earlier this year I was so sad at the thought of turning 30 and being
alone single. As my divorce got messier I couldn't wait to turn 30 and leave
my ex-husband my past my 20's behind me. Now that this day is here I can't figure out how I feel about it.
I spent Friday and Saturday nights out with a good friend celebrating both our birthdays (but really just hanging out, catching up, and being silly).
It was a really nice breath of fresh air. We met new people, laughed ourselves silly, and did a lot of people watching. It was a great weekend.
I <3 this picture
So, I feel like 30 years is a long time to have lived. All the people that are older than me assure me that I'm not old and have a long way to go until I am...I love that thought! Here are some lessons that I have learned in my last 30 years
1. SHARE!
When I was little I learned to share my things. As I grew older I learned that while sharing toys is wonderful, there are more important things that need to be shared. Share your time. Share your thoughts and your feelings. Share a hug. Share a smile. Share a compliment. Share the credit. Share your heart. Share your life. Opening yourself up and sharing might make you vulnerable. It might make getting hurt a little easier, but it also keeps you soft, it keeps you open, it keeps you connected.
2. Don't Give Up!
When I was in high school I was a cheerleader. We were good...really good. My sophomore year we were preparing for a string of competitions coming up. One of the integral members of our squad broke her collarbone. We reworked our routine and the week before competition another integral member of our squad broke her hand. We reworked the routine again and someone else got hurt. The morning of the competition we showed up at school to get ready to go and someone else was hurt. It was 3 hours before we were to compete and we were down to 9 squad members. It was so tempting to just quit. What could we possibly do? We reworked the routine again and decided to try anyway. Minutes before we were to go on we were practicing and every stunt was falling and we were having trouble keeping it together through all the changes. Our coaches left us with a pep talk and a smile and left backstage sure that it was going to be a disaster. Well, we went out there and competed. We came in 3rd...our rag-tag little bunch. It was a good day. Throughout life I've learned that you have to keep trying. It is inevitable that you will fail, sometimes success doesn't look the way you want it to, and a lot of times it seems like it may have been a waste to try so hard...but it's not. Whether it's weight loss, marriage, career, children, sports, whatever it is that you want...don't give up!
3. Surround yourself with people who can make you smile!
I don't know who these girls are, but I love this picture. I have been so blessed in my life to have girl friends that would totally do something like this!
I love to smile. I love to laugh. I think that it is so important to have people in your life that inspire you to do both. Having friends that you can laugh with and cry with is a very important piece of life!
4. Be true to who you are!
I spent a lot of time in my life trying to be who someone else wanted me to be. I've tried to impress people. I've tried to please people. I've tried to fit in. I've tried to contort myself into other's molds of who and what I should be. I don't do that anymore. Just because you like dirt bikes doesn't mean I have to for us to get along. Just because I like showtunes doesn't mean that you have to for us to get along. This was a hard concept for me to get, but I have it now. Our uniqueness is what makes this world such a beautiful place (I know, I know, I sound like an afterschool special). Just be yourself and never, never let anyone make you feel bad for being you!
5. Be spontaneous and try new things!
You can spend your whole life carefully planning every move. You can analyze a decision forever. Sometimes you just have to take a risk and do something spontaneous and out of the ordinary. Recently I got bored on a Friday night and cut myself some bangs. I haven't had bangs since high school. Once I got a haircut and they gave me bangs when I didn't want them and they looked awful. Ever since then I have been very careful to explicitly tell hairdressers that I did NOT want bangs. Later on I got married and my husband did not like bangs, short hair, or black hair, so those were the rules that I told my hairdresser she had to follow...anything else was fair game. So, what got into me on this random Friday night? I have no idea, but the thought popped in my head so I watched some YouTube videos on how to do it and I took the plunge and cut them. I'm so glad I did! It totally changed up my look and I have gotten so many compliments on them! It was exactly what I needed! I realize that this is a story about hair, and let's face it, hair isn't going to change your life, but taking a little risk and having a spontaneous moment without talking myself out of it was so refreshing!
6. It could always be worse!
I've gone through some tough stuff in my life. Don't get me wrong, life has been mostly good and I am very blessed, however, there have been some rough times in my life. One thing I've learned is that things could always be worse. I'm too thankful for the positive things that have filled my last 30 years to dwell on the negative pieces. Those negative pieces have shaped me into who I am just as much as those positive ones have. So, when things get bad just think...it could always be worse. Apparently my mom thinks so too!
My last 30 years were filled with joy, sorrow, pain, laughter, love, tears, heartache, fun, friendship, failures, sunshine, shadows...they have been filled with life! I know that I have so far to go and so much life left to live, and I'm looking forward to seeing what my 30s hold for me!
Here's to 30! Let the adventure
begin continue!
