30 things I'm glad I did before I turned 30
1.Graduated from college
2.Served a mission
3.packed up and moved to a new city (twice!)
4.learned French
5.been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
6.flown out of Heathrow
7.kissed plenty of the wrong boys
8.stood on Olympic ice
9.discovered where to get a great meal in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, D.C., LA, and Boston
10.ran a marathon
11.DJ’d at my college radio station
12.had my heart really broken
13.quit biting my nails
14.said I love you and meant it
15.made and kept a circle of amazing friends
16.saw U2 in SLC
17.wore an Armani dress
18.played Hermia in Midsummer Night’s Dream
19.welcomed fantastic in-laws to the family
20.learned to ski and snowboard
21.joined a sorority
22.splurged a few times on really expensive jeans
23.got checked out by Jesse Bradford
24.stayed in a four star hotel
25.danced on pointe shoes
26.kissed a groomsman when I was a bridesmaid
27.learned to genuinely love working out
28.made an attempt at surfing
29.skinny dipped in Walden Pond
Of all the things I'm so glad I did before I turned 30, I'm the most excited that I've arrived at some kind of peace about just being me. When I first moved to California a few years ago, a friend kept telling me that I was finally going to get to know myself now that I was out on my own. I was 25 at the time and resented the implication that somehow in all those years I hadn't really figured out who I was. It turned out he was right. It wasn't until I was alone and struggling to find a place in my new home that I started really evaluating what I believed and what I enjoyed and how I spent my time. Instead of measuring those things against my friends or my family or the smartest girl in the sorority or the most productive missionary or the girl everyone liked at work, I just measured them against me. And as it turns out, I'm a much better judge of what I want to be like than anyone else. So I'm sitting here at 12:15 on my birthday morn, taking stock of what I've been doing for the past 30 years and I feel really satisfied. That's a nice list up there and I have this feeling that my thirties might have even more awesome twists and turns....
7 comments:
Happy Birthday Ms. Cliff!!!
Happy Birthday!
i could make a joke about how i'm exactly half your age now.
but i won't.
all i'll say is that you are
wonderful.
and i posted a blog about you.
happy birfdee!
happy, happy birthday katie! hope this weekend was full of fun. here's to more awesome 30 years ahead.
happy birthday! so sad i missed the celebration but heard it was a riot. And I am most envious about the jesse bradford thing. Seriously.
Kate,
You're right - it is a very nice list. Maybe the best part of being your dad has been watching you become who you are now. Isn't it great to be out of the cocoon and see all of the colors in your new wings? Go fly, kid.
Katie, you rock and I'm glad we've become friends. It was great to see you as you crossed the threshold into your 30s. Darling, it all happens in your 30s. Life is just starting to get interesting.
-Chris (35 tomorrow)
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