My 28th Birthday

In the past as I've blogged, I've done lists of lessons learned for birthdays.  I actually did it a few blogs ago with 21 Lessons in 21 Years.  I know, I was an old soul when I should have been out getting trashed on Jell-o shots.  So much has changed... our 20s are so formative!  More so than even teenage years, if you ask me.  It's the time we really come into our own.

Me, in 1985... I still have Cheer Bear

But I have learned quite a bit even in the last couple of years.  I guess I'll be calling this...

Grown Up Lessons Learned

You can relate more with your parents than you ever imagined.  I think that's why I argue with them.  I find myself saying things that Mom or Dad would say.  I catch myself thinking the same things, doing the same things...  It's like my body is being taken over!  Ack!  It's kind of scary.  But I also kind of love spending more time with my parents now than I did as a teen or young adult.

Making and keeping friends gets harder and harder.  While some people think social media is killing real relationships, at least it's providing me a window into my friends' lives!  I've been in Nashville for less than a year, and outside of work the 'making friends' side of things has been slow.  I miss the days of easy friendships.  I miss my high school friends, my college friends.  I also miss my best friends that are scattered all over the world these days... we just keep moving as adults.

Metabolism is NOT your friend.  Seriously.  The difference between the way your body works at 23 is way different than 28.  Ugh.  Not impossible, but definitely an uphill battle.  You also get tired more easily.  Or maybe that's just me.

You know what you want in relationships.  Well, maybe this isn't true for everyone.   But I'd definitely say I know more about what I want than I did at 16, 19, 22, and so on.  Sadly, you often learn these lessons through trial and error.  And heartbreak.  And devastation.  Even depression.  Then suddenly, happiness returns.  Things are better than you could have imagined.  You're in love.  And you're not. compromising. yourself.  You're in a good place.

You learn what's important.  I was just talking to my friend LD about this the other day.  A few years back, I'd think nothing of dropping a few hundred bucks on a shopping spree, designer handbag, or something like that.  It was probably a regular occurrence.  So now it's funny that as I get older, and I can actually afford that stuff, it's not as important to me anymore.  I'm just not as attached to stuff anymore; it's more about experiences and enjoyment and things you can't actually hold onto.

Overall, I think I feel better about life in general at 28 than I did at 21 or some other younger/arbitrary age.  I have come into my own, and I like the way things are going.  I'm not afraid of this birthday, or the next one, or even turning 30.  I still feel in my prime, and that the best continues to keep coming!

Here's to another year, and a thousand lessons learned.