It’s the day. It’s my 30th birthday. I have so many thoughts and emotions on entering a new decade but at this moment the strongest emotion I feel is excitement!
I’m not one who usually celebrates birthdays with large parties. I’m the type who likes a low key dinner with family and friends and spending time video chatting and texting loved ones who are at a long distance.
This year I was able to spend a few days in New York City with friends a week before my birthday. We were able to visit the new Harry Potter Flagship store, see the first show of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Lyric Theatre since the pandemic, and eat lots and lots of good food. Also, my friends surprised me with a fun brunch which added an extra special joyful moment to the vacation!
Anyways, back to thoughts of the big 3-0.
I spent a lot of time about entering the new decade. I thought back to my teenage years and where I envisioned myself at 30 back then and how that vision changed as I entered my early 20s, mid 20s, and late 20s. I also thought about all the things I’ve accomplished and my growth as a human thus far.
I’ve been feeling so much gratitude these last few weeks especially. So much to be thankful for like being able to spend quality time with my mom, my close friends, and family as I enter my thirties.
2. Being 30 and single is okay. Yes, I’d like to find Mr. Right soon but at this moment, I’m happy being single and focusing on me.
3. Get that physical activity in. I’m not pressuring myself to do x amount of exercise x times a week but I definitely want to be more active for health purposes.
4. Practice gratitude each night. Bad days happen but I don’t like to go to bed with any negative feelings. Practicing gratitude each night helps me end each day with peace and calm.
5. Grateful more than ever to spend time with close family and friends. As someone who lost her dad at a young age + several close family members during the pandemic, the gratitude is real. I cherish every moment I have with my mom and close ones.
6. Life is short, live the life you want. This ties back to the above. The sudden loss of family members recently has been a great reminder how short life can be and to live the life I want without hesitation.
7. I’m stronger than I realize. An important thing to remember during difficult times.
8. Experience more things. Spending time and money on experiences, especially with family and friends, creates beautiful memories that we can look back to.
9. Relationships are a two way street. Carrying the bulk of any relationship is unfair so if this is a constant thing happening in any relationship, it may be time to reevaluate it and manage expectations.
10. The love for Harry Potter is as strong as ever. It’s been nearly 20 years and I still find myself enjoying the series even though I thought the love would fade by now. Grateful I was able to catch Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway again and visit their new Flagship store in NYC a few days ago!
11. I’m not responsible for the feelings of others. Legit need to remind myself of this often. The amount of times I over analyze certain conversations is insane. It’s important to move on and not dwell on situations I cannot control.
12. It’s okay to not have my life completely figured out by 30. I felt a lot of pressure in my early to mid twenties that I had to have my life path completely figured out + a huge chunk met by the time I turned 30. Marriage, children, career, being a homeowner, etc. Thankfully, that pressure isn’t there anymore. I firmly believe it’s okay to not have things completely figured out yet and that changing goals and paths is okay.
13. Learning to say no has been life changing. As someone who was a people pleaser and let people walk all over her most of her life, I’m proud that I learned to say no and learned to say no apologetically. It’s helped me live a peaceful and happy life.
14. Glad I started my anti-aging skincare routine in my 20s. Healthy, radiant, and youthful skin are part of my skin goals and I’m glad I learned the importance of a proper skincare routine earlier on because it definitely helped with my skin goals and working on a consistent and effective skincare routine.
15. Girl, wear your retainers. I started Invisalign this year and one constant thought I’ve had these last few months is how I wouldn’t have had to spend all this money again on straightening my teeth if I wore my retainers diligently after the first time I got my braces when I was a teenager. Definitely going to be a lot more consistent and diligent this time around.
16. I want to learn a new language (or two). This has been on my mind for a while but I really want to commit. I’d like to refresh my Spanish because it bothers me that I spent 5 years learning Spanish only to remember about 5 phrases now. I’d also like to learn Korean because yes, I am one of those humans who got into KPOP during the pandemic and also have been spending more time watching K dramas + Korean movies.
17. Live in the moment. As someone who often spent more time stressing about what the past could have been or what the future could be, learning to live in the moment has been so precious.
18. Try the cuisines you’ve been wanting to try. There are so many foods I’ve been wanting to try and not making time for. I hope I continue to expand my palette in my thirties and try more foods from different cultures.
19. Things work out for the best. Things don’t always happen the way I envision or hope for but having faith that it all works out for the best helps me move on from moments that don’t go as planned.
20. Work on your routines. Morning routine, evening routine, and everything in between. I thrive when I have a good routine so why not prioritize working on them to live a better life?
21. Being a homebody is okay. Was hoping to leave the comparison game in my twenties as well but what can I say? I’m human. There are days I still have to remind myself that everyone is different and being an introvert + homebody is 100% OKAY. I don’t have a long lasting social battery like others and that’s fine.
22. Travel when you can + try solo traveling. There are so many beautiful places in this world I’d like to explore. I’ve never traveled alone before and would like to experience that at least once too.
23. Bad days and unhappy feelings are temporary. I remember dwelling so much on unhappy moments without understanding they won’t last forever. I’m glad that’s something I overcame in my twenties and realized those moments and feelings aren’t permanent.
24. Boundaries are important. Personally + professionally. And they’re nothing to feel guilty about setting.
25. Communication and comprehension are key. I’ve been seeing more about this topic on social media lately. Both are important for maintaining relationships!
26. Friendships can run their course and that’s okay. It’s not always a great feeling but that’s the reality. Strength of relationships can also go up and down and that’s just how it is. It’s not something we can control if both parties aren’t putting in equal amounts of work.
27. It’s never too late to chase your dreams. It’s so inspiring to see people of all ages work towards and reach their dreams during different stages of life.
28. That being said, it is okay to change your career path. We all continuously evolve and grow and with that can come a desire for change in our professional lives. It can be scary and it takes a lot of work but I think it’s important to remember that we have the choice to pursue a different path if we want to.
29. Forgiveness can be healing. This goes with both forgiving yourself and forgiving others. It can help with moving forward with more peace.
30. I am excited to see what my thirties bring. At least that’s how I currently feel, literally two and a half hours before my 30th birthday. I’m so much more aware of who I am and continuously work to align with the type of person I want to be. Excited to see what life will look like in this next decade.
