I turned 30 last week and it felt like a foregone conclusion. Partly because I was dreading and/or anticipating the big 3-0 throughout my 29th year and partly because time has become an abstract concept during COVID.
I wanted to get off the hedonic treadmill for a second to reflect on the last three decades. There’s nothing I love more than lists; so here goes the list of 30 things I’ve learnt about myself and the world in the last 30 years.
- Love is worth the wait
- Books are my window to the world
- I write my emotions better than I can speak them
- Without music, my life feels empty
- The internet has shaped my identity for better or for worse
- You make your own family
- To some degree, we’re all prisoners of our birth
- If you choose right, friends don’t come and go; they stay
- Leaving home was hard, but staying would have been harder
- Learning is exercise for the brain, it makes me happy
- Exercise is exercise for the body, it makes me happy too
- Food is fuel and food is joy; food is not the enemy
- It can take a long, long time to feel comfortable in your own skin
- Based on historical averages, things that taste weird now will taste good in five years (see red wine, coffee, oysters)
- My work is a huge part of my life and I derive self-worth from it
- Personal aesthetics are a manifestation of the inner mind
- I don’t want to be a billionaire; it’s not worth the trouble
- If I set my mind to something, there’s a good chance I will make it happen
- Time > money, always
- My puppy fever > baby fever
- I have a stupidly low tolerance for unnecessary discomfort
- Celebrations and lovely meals with tipsy friends make the world go round
- Getting off Facebook and Instagram has freed my mind
- Expensive skincare pays dividends
- San Francisco is home now, it feels like home now
- Never buy a sub $20 bottle of wine
- It’s incredibly hard to change as an adult; I’m grateful I had the gift of good morals and habits (thanks parents!)
- Being generous with my time, money, and affection has paid back in spades
- When you look back at your life, all the dots will connect
- I’m still seeking my life’s purpose(s)