It’s my birthday today! I think it’s so important to pause in these annual moments and take stock of everything that one’s grateful for – don’t you think?
I am turning 31 this year, and although it’s not one of the ‘big’ birthdays, it feels like a pretty great milestone to me.
In honor of this age, I would like to compare it directly to my 20s – and to celebrate this age for what it is: today. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Age 20-24
This is the time when the more fortunate of us are studying, travelling, and beginning our journeys in the working world. For me, I was traveling through Europe and south-east Asia and found one of the best things in life that I found it hard to put my finger on throughout the rest of my 20s: peace. When I was travelling, I felt at peace for the first time in my life, and it was one of the most enchanting and glorious feelings in the world. There were no expectations, minimal responsibilities, great people to hang out with and beautiful experiences to be had, and the world was there at my feet. I could do anything, be anyone and become whatever my heart desired. Only – I didn’t really know what that was! I had great friends, had loved and lost love, had distanced myself from many of the emotional obstacles that I had experienced during my teens and I was ready to continue my journey and do something great in the world.
Age 25-29
I had finished my degree in media, and had begun to work in the field I had chosen and pursued – public relations. This was actually one of the most difficult times in my life, because I was treading down a career path that I doubted a little while later and I was dealing with conflicts and personalities in the workplace that I couldn’t identify with on a personal level. I was faced with finding my feet on very uncertain terms. The upside? I was young enough, intelligent and talented enough, and I had a solid income for the first time in my life. Still, I felt some limitations. I worked hard, long hours and instead of embracing my life, I fought with it and distanced myself from my friends and from my values, in order to get the job done.
Age 30-31
I can’t talk beyond this, but I feel like I am only now just waking up. In a way, I am still seeking the peace that I found when I was traveling in my early 20s but I don’t think we can ever relive anything. We certainly can’t have the exact same experiences again – and realistically, nor would we want to because they become glorified in our minds with time. I would never want to relive anything because I would give away all the learnings and wisdom that comes over the years.
What I am learning now, and how I seek to live in my 30s, is:
- Placing value on what I have right now, and discontinuing the type of thinking that permeated throughout my 20s: ‘when I have X, I will be happy’.
- Finding the peace I seek within myself, rather than through something as fleeting as traveling – although, it’s the same thing – right? When I travelled, I found peace within myself. Now, I seek to find this in daily life.
- Now that I know myself a little better than I did in my 20s, I am looking to use this learning in order to make plans and better decisions in my future – to make decisions out of love and my own set of values, rather than out of fear, the desire to be better, or the need to impress others.
- I am using my energy to make the world a better place and to bring happiness to others through my own unique talents.
- I am finding happiness in each moment, which has monumentally increased my overall feelings of wellbeing.
- I have stopped being in such a hurry to do everything – it will all happen in good time.
How do you reflect each birthday?