3 Weeks to 30

In exactly 3 weeks, I will be entering a brand new decade.

This isn’t earth shattering news, I know. Lots of people do it. People actually survive it. But in my fragile little universe, this is epic.

I’ve been dreading this birthday since the day after I turned 21. At that point, I was convinced that my 20’s were going to be the best years of my life. Carefree years filled with the biggest moments – a first job, marriage, buying a house, maybe kids. And though several of those things happened, they did not turn out exactly as I hoped they would. However, of that I am grateful.

As I teeter on the precipice of 30, I am so excited to be moving beyond a decade riddled with angst, and toward one with confidence and the self-reliance I lacked in my 20s.

Scott and I have a common understanding of what we hope our future will be, but do not dwell on the details of what’s to come. Rather, we bask in the present, filling our time with meeting new people, going new places, and exploring everything life has to offer.

Though I have spent the past 9 years worrying about my 30th birthday, I am now filled with an optimism that is second to none.  I know that the gray hair will continue to spread, and the fine lines you assume are just your Mother’s way of getting you to wear sunscreen will amass upon my face, but that’s why they invented hair dye and face cream.

Tell me, if you’ve reached your 30s, was it as bad as people make it out to be? Or so much better? And if you’ve yet to make the climb over the hill, what are you most looking forward to?

-Al