Thirty, Flirty and Thriving

My 30th birthday is in 11 days. Not only am I celebrating my Dirty Thirty, I’m also celebrating my Golden Birthday (as my birthday is the 30th). It’s a little bittersweet. I don’t like the idea of leaving my twenties, but I do like the idea of moving further into adulthood. Ten or so years ago, you would never hear me speak of turning 30 with such positivity.

I, foolishly, thought I’d accomplish everything I sought to accomplish by the age of 30 and saw no point in living beyond that. I was so young and so naive. Thankfully, I tend to keep at least one set of friends around who are older than I, and they provide perspective on what the future can hold if I invest the time and work now. I never thought I’d say this, but I look forward to my 30s, 40s and beyond.

I, foolishly, thought I’d have everything figured out by now, and there is still a lot for me to learn, even about myself. This past month I took a break from alcohol, yet still occasionally went out. Part of the reason was I wanted to get back into the gym and drinking would get in the way of developing muscle, also it is quite easy for me to decide to skip the gym if I’ve been drinking the night before. Another reason, which I kept to myself, was I use/used alcohol as a way of breaking through my social anxiety, but I wasn’t more social with it (as I’ve learned the past month) and I’d drink more and more in an effort to… let go, if you will, and it wasn’t working. I saw this post that was a quote from Robin Williams (allegedly… don’t always trust what you read on the internet) that said if you have to do drugs or drink to have a good time, you’re doing something wrong. And at that moment, I decided to take a little break from drinking to see if I could still have fun out and about sober. Moving forward, I probably won’t be out and about sober, maybe a drink or two, as drunk people can be annoying when sober, but I still went out and I still had fun and met new people and was able to have conversations (and remember people’s names this time) without even a sip of alcohol.

My year of 30 is going to be focused on getting back into writing. It’s the thing that has always given me the most peace and yet something I’ve been running scared from for the past two and a half years (despite being the reason I moved to Los Angeles.) It is said that an “overnight success” in Hollywood typically takes about ten years of hard work and I think I’m ready to start putting in that work. I have friends who are just hitting 40 or close to it, who are doing things I’d love to do when I’m that age, and I’m ready to invest that time and work. I’m OK with spending the time now and being labeled an “overnight success” at 40.

I’m excited for what the next ten years hold. The last ten were quite a ride. Hell, the last two were quite a ride. Here’s to being Thirty, Flirty and Thriving!