Age 31.
Today is my 31st birthday. Last year, I celebrated my birthday with a 30k hike in Northwest New Jersey. It was awesome. I went to two diners that day, and even during the pandemic, it was exactly how I wanted to spend my 30th birthday.
Since then, so much has changed. I moved and then moved again. People are probably sick of me talking about moving, but that was age 30 for me. Moving and moving again.
I never celebrated a birthday in Napa, Ca. I’m not really sure what I would have done there. Hike? Go out to San Francisco? I don’t really know. But it doesn’t matter because I’m not there anymore.
Age 30 was a year of uncertainty for me; I suppose—a year of growth and a year of uncertainty.
Today, July 12th, I am spending with my parents and one of my brothers. In recent years, I’ve celebrated a few birthdays with my parents.
I’ve typed a “what I learned from age 30” post a few times. Now it just seems silly.
Every year I learn things. In fact, every day, I learn things. I’m definitely a different person than when I left NJ a year ago. Not in a bad way, just in a different way. A year changes anyone, even in subtle ways. The pandemic changed everyone. Moving changes people.
I don’t know what I have learned. What qualifies me to even write that, minus I am another year older.
I guess the biggest lesson from age 30 is to be flexible. Life will not turn out how you planned. I didn’t really plan to move during a pandemic, but we did. The older I get, the more flexible I get. It’s a hard cry from 21 year old me that hated starting something at 6:01 when the timeline said 6:00.
Maybe it was the pandemic that taught me to be more flexible. Maybe it was getting older or moving twice. I don’t really know or care, but that is what happened over the last year.
As I reflect on age 30, it was a good year. It was a weird year, but it was a weird year for everyone. I’m looking forward to the next year and what life has in store for me.
Wow, moving twice in one year! That’s crazy! I’ve moved once in my life! Kudos to you ☺️ Happy Birthday!!