Since my birthday last summer, I’ve been groaning about my upcoming 29th birthday. “I’ll be almost 30, ugh!” Whether that groan came from the fear of getting older or not having my life look the way I thought it would at this age — birthday groaning has been my mantra.
And it’s a very unflattering mantra to have.
Recently as I was scrolling through a social media feed, I stumbled across three separate posts in memorial of people who passed away well before their time. People in their twenties and thirties with new lives, children, and spouses. People who had their whole lives ahead of them… and here I was complaining about getting older.
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Sometimes life hands you a lesson just when you need it most. Simply stumbling across these posts shifted my mind into a new perspective. I began reminiscing my twenties – what was lost over the years, and what was gained. After a quick review of the last decade, I realized a few things…
1. Getting older is a privilege that should be cherished.
At 22 years old, my 25 year old boyfriend was laid to rest. At 26 years old, my 25 year old friend was laid to rest. And when I was 28 years old, I saw two close friends lay their 20-something boyfriends to rest. Getting older isn’t a given; it’s a gift.
2. Wrinkles or laugh lines – call them what you will, they are your story.
Confession: I get worried about physically looking older. But with life experiences comes life scars. The laugh lines at the corners of my lips are from years of joyfully appreciating life. We should embrace these bodily changes, not fear them.
3. We never have it all figured out, so who cares what age we are?
At 16, I projected what being a 21 year old would look like. I was wrong. When I was 21, I absolutely “knew” what life would look like at 25. I was wrong. We never have life figured out because our minds and hearts change by the year. This makes age a whole lot less important, and happiness a whole lot more.
4. There are no ‘must do’s’ by a certain age.
While I support anyone who chooses to follow a ’30 by 30′ list (or anything along the same lines), I just can’t push myself to create one. Why? Because there is no ‘must do’ by a certain age. If I don’t swim with manatees by my 30th birthday, will the world fall apart at the seams? I’m guessing not.
5. With age comes wisdom; with growth comes lessons.
The hardest part, and strangely my favorite part, of being in my twenties has been all the life lessons. I’ve grown into my own person with my own belief system, values, and morals. I approach the world individualistically as many adults do. I’m not searching for my self-identity, I’m learning it day by day. And these lessons don’t stop on your 29th, 30th, or 31st birthday. These lessons come throughout life.
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This Thursday while I celebrate my 29th birthday, I won’t be worrying about aging; I’ll be embracing the gift of another year in this beautiful life. I don’t have goals for the final year of my twenties, and I don’t have a list of things that must be accomplished. What I will be doing in the last year of my twenties is…
♥ Seeing each day as a gift and treating it accordingly
♥ Committing to more random acts of kindness
♥ Looking for laughter in every waking moment
♥ Loving and doting on my family, boyfriend, friends and pets
♥ Taking adventures to keep my heart and soul free
How do you feel about aging?
Are you approaching a new decade in life?