Thirty, Schmirty!

Jeez... no offence to the young'uns, but I'm feeling really old right now. One of my good friends is turning 30 this weekend and I'm going to a surprise party for her tonight. Thirty! Holy crap that seems young! For the most part, the difference in our ages is not that big of a deal. She's the youngest in her family (by 8 years), so she's used to being around "older" people.

But it got me to thinking about my own 30th birthday, nearly 12 years ago. I was in such a horrible place back then. I was finally living on my own, having had room-mates since I left university. I had a ton of debt and was finding it hard to make ends meet. I had a crappy job at a company that I actually really liked, which made it bearable. But I was very unhappy and VERY overweight. I actually cringe when I look at photos of myself from back then.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I had been feeling stressed about turning 30 for two full years beforehand. And it took another 2-3 years after turning 30 to get out of my funk.

Things I figured out by 40 that I wish I had known at 30:

1. That I don't have to have it all figured out right this minute
2. That everything bad that happens isn't the end of the world
3. That I will always have lessons to learn
4. That no experience is wasted if a lesson can be learned from it
5. That the best is yet to come
6. That everyone else is struggling, just like me
7. That everything and anything is possible
8. That I'm actually quite athletic
9. How much losing weight changed my life in ways that I never expected it would
10. That I would look and feel younger at 40 than I did at 30

Happy birthday, CL!