HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas to you!

Today I turn 30.  Three-to-the-oh.  Dirty Thirty.

I should be out celebrating, but it's Christmas, so I have no one to celebrate with except for the sad, lonely people that are at bars on Christmas Day.  Nothankyou. 

Why do people get so weird about turning 30?  Or birthdays in general.  Why is there this stigma attached to aging?  I don't get it.  Maybe I don't get it because I am so happy with my life and I feel like I am in an amazing place at this point in my journey and I can't wait to see what more is to come.  Maybe it's just people who think they should have done more or should be more by the time they hit this age that dread it.  I dunno.  What I do know it that I thought this would be a good time to reflect on everything the first 30 years of my life has given me...

• Wonderful and supportive family
• Realizing my love for reading at a young age
• Realizing my love for dance/performing
• Countless friends, some of which are still around from way back when and a few amazing ones I picked up a little later in life
• Steady and continuous employment since the age of 15
• Amazing camping trips
• A couple of trips to Hawaii
• Many trips to Vegas
• A couple of trips to the East Coast
• A few cruises
• The loss of too many friends and a few family members
• Falling in love a few times
• Having my heart broken once or twice
• An Associates Degree
• A Bachelors Degree
• A Masters Degree
• Employers that let me work around my school schedule
• A Honda Accord
• A VW Jetta
• A Scion TC
• Owning my first home at 21 years old
• The ability to purchase another home at 28 years old
• Confidence in myself and my abilities
• A lot of debt that I was able to pay off a couple of times and rack back up again (Yay America!)
• Tens of thousands of life lessons
• The experience of a sorority (AXO for life!)
• A couple of minor car accidents
• The privelege of being engaged...twice
• The strength and wisdom to follow my heart and end the first engagement
• The ability to bounce back from that and find love again
• Getting married to a man I love more and more each day
• Becoming an Auntie
• A commitment to health and wellness
• Travels to Europe
• An awesome blog community
• Being a Matron of Honor
• Seeing some of my best friends find happiness in life and love
• Countless other experiences for better or for worse

It's been an amazing thirty years and I can't even imagine what is coming my way in the next thirty.  I hope to strengthen all of the relationships I have and maybe even make a few more.  Who knows?  Thank you for being a part of my journey.