30 Years....

So Im approaching the big 30. Not really sure why its that big of a deal. Your twenties are overrated, and its not like 30 is the halfway mark of our life span… At any rate, I will celebrate if for no other reason than I have reached this milestone alive and well, with all my limbs intact.

I will say there are many, many valuable lessons I have learned on my way, and although I have many, many more to learn, I think Im going to write down a few I know by heart.

1. Dont limit yourself by other’s expectations. Only you can truly stop yourself.

2. Its better to have only one real friend then 2 dozen “party buddies” I know. Been there, done that, dont have the t-shirt bc a “friend” got drunk and stole it.

3. Teach a child something. I never knew how gratifying it was to have someone learn something from me until I taught a silly song to one of my nieces. It wasn’t a huge life lesson, but she laughed and sang it over and over and with absolute joy told people her “Aunt Trishy” had taught her about “Herman the Wormin”.

4. Be yourself. No one likes a faker, and people arent as dumb as you think. They’ll figure out quickly youre full of it and move on. And youll be alone. Again.

5. You dont have to like everyone, but you should be kind, courteous, and respectful. If you cant be, remove yourself from the situation.

6. Get rid of dead weight. Be it crap in your closet or “friends” who only drag you down. At the end of the day you didnt need it and it took up room where other things could be.

7. Love your family. Once you accept they are who they are, then you can accept yourself.

8. Dont let anyone ever make you feel like you are worthless, or not good enough. And I said “let” because no one can make you feel any certain way unless you let them. Take control for your actions, and kick the losers to the curb.

9. You have to give love and respect to be loved and respected. And in order to give it properly, you must first love and respect yourself. I wish more women practiced this. I didnt always, but I learned and life is so much more lovely.

10. Be kind. Simple, but so often overlooked in our busy day to day lives.

11. Sometimes to really get things going, you have to stop, be still, and listen.

12. It isnt always about you. Get over yourself, bc other people will.

13. Try and appreciate the arts. You dont have to be a wine and cheese expert who has fabulous gay friends and attends every gala opening wearing all black and smoking something foreign. I mean, you can be, that’s pretty cool too, but just try and appreciate art even if you dont quite get it.

14. You can analyze any situation down to the point where you find a reason not to do it. Sometimes you should go with your gut, and take a flying leap of faith. If not you’ll always wonder what might of been.

15. Dont inhale.

16. Never make someone a priority in your life if youre not a priority in theirs.

17. Volunteer somewhere once in your life, and if you get the chance to do so in a third world country go. You will never be the same.

18. Be nice to old people. You’ll be old one day too. Unless you die, then its probably bc you werent nice to old people and God is punishing you! (jk)

19. Dont take everything so seriously. Life is not that dramatic, and most of the drama in our lives we bring on ourselves. I repeat, get over yourself.

20. Be passionate about your views and let people know where you stand. Along those lines repsect that other people have different viewpoints. Try and understand why they think the way they do. You might change your mind, or you might totally validate yourself. Either way, you still win.

21. Appreciate your teachers!!!! They get paid diddly and still show up every day bc they care about you!

22. Never stop learning. You never know it all and if you think you do, you are truly clueless.

23. Dont give up on God. He never gives up on you.

24. Cherish the people you love and please, please make sure they know how important they are to you. I have actually written letters to the people I love the most and tucked them away. In the event anything happens to me, they’ll always know they shared my heart. Hopefully that would be some small comfort.

25. Dont fear death, be prepared.

26. If the prize outweighs the risk, and you can live with the loss should you lose, go for it. If you cant, then dont be stupid. Its that simple.

27. Give your heart away but make sure the recipient is deserving.

28. Graciousness and tact get you light years further than cattiness and meanness.

29. Dont make decision based on emotion. That said, dont make decisions based all on practicality. Find a happy medium. Not a joyful psychic you silly! Balance!

30. My teens were awful and my twenties need to be erased. But my best years are still yet to come and I welcome them with open arms, amazing friends, a wonderful neurotic family, newly found insight, and the best bottle of red wine I can buy! Cheers to life!