ANOTHER YEAR

Remember the days when you would round up so that you felt older? Yeah, not really a problem anymore… 

But coming one year closer to 30 doesn’t really bother me, anymore! When I was in my early 20’s I used to think it was a huge deal. But that’s before I realized how little I knew. About… like, everything. 

I remember a few interviews I saw on TV with actresses where they are asked about turning a certain age. I didn’t really understand what they were saying at the time, but now, a few years later I’ve grown to appreciate it. They said they aren’t upset about getting older because they have a new-found confidence. They’ve experienced so much in their lives that as they have gotten older, they know who they are as a person: as a wife, daughter, mother, actress, etc. And with that they are immensely confident in their everyday life as well as any obstacles they may face. 

And now, I totally get it. 

There is so much you don’t know that you don’t know, when you’re younger. Yes, read it again. I promise it makes sense. Coming out of college and entering the real world we think we’ve got it figured out. Excited to conquer the new challenges. When we have no idea what those challenges will be, or how we will get through them! Coming one year closer to 30 I feel so much better about who I am as an adult and I know that I can overcome so much, because I already have!

You know the saying ‘make plans, God laughs’? It’s true! When we’re younger people tend to make plans, or expectations for their lives. “I’ll totally be married by (enter age)”, “I’ll have my dream career by (enter age)”. I have heard friends say these things all the time! For some reason I was never really a “life-planner”. Yes, I’m type A and I plan out my day, and have color coded planners… but let’s not dwell, shall we? For some reason, I never really felt the need to make those bigger life-plans. I always felt like there was going to be some level of uncertainty there, and I was okay with it. In fact, I preferred it that way! Sure, there were times when I wondered where I would be, who I would be with, and that can be agonizing, having zero clue. But as I have gotten older, I really don’t mind not knowing. I actually enjoy it! 

And a huge part of that are my supportive friends and family. I wouldn’t be able to go through those unknowns without my husband, or that daily call with my sister venting about who-knows-what! 

So, whatever stage of life you’re in. Appreciate it! Whether you’re in college, out of college, or approaching a new decade :-O there is a purpose for every stage of life, there are lessons to learn in each of them. Some of them suck! You won’t understand why it is happening to you, at the time. But know that for every one of those sucky lessons, there is a moment 5+ years later where you’ll be thinking about it and laughing. Yes, even that crappy boyfriend had a purpose 😛 I know, shocking! 

There’s also a respect for the process. I now know what my sister (5 years older than me) has meant all this time when she said I “just didn’t get it”. And I didn’t! Why, in my early 20’s would I? You really don’t even know who you are as an adult yet at that point. But now, I’ve reached that point 5+ years later, where I am sitting on my front porch (no really, I am) thinking about those moments in my early 20’s, laughing. Laughing to think that I had any clue as to what I was doing, what would happen in life, or that I would know how to handle it. Odds are, we don’t know how, but you can figure it out. And maybe in another 5 years, I’ll be sitting on the front porch (in what state, TBD) laughing at my 29-year-old self… odds are pretty good.