Tomorrow I turn 30.  And because I’m saying farewell to a pretty significant decade of my life, I thought I’d take a minute to recap some of the highs and lows of the last 10 years.

In my 20’s I:

• Graduated from both UCLA and USF Law School (age 22 and 25). 
• Passed the BAR and became a real-life attorney (age 25).
• Cried a lot while studying for the BAR (Fun fact: after the second day of the exam, I called KC sobbing and asked him to bring me a happy meal.  True story.) 
• Worked at 11 different jobs.
• Had 3 different full-time jobs (including one that has been my dream job since law school).
• Bought 2 cars (age 25 and 28). 
• Became a certified Bar Method instructor (age 27). 
• Studied in Stratford-upon-Avon and London  (I spent a fortune on phone cards while studying there, calling KC) (age 21) and Rome (age 23). 
• Traveled to Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, Washington, Canada, Austria, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, and the UK. 
• And also traveled to Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and Arizona (but not for fun).
• Got the flu twice and broke a rib coughing both times (the woooooorst).
• Met KC (at age 20) and started dating, moved in with him (age 25), got engaged (age 26), got married (age 27), worked really really hard and finally figured out what the hell marriage is all about (age 28-present). 
• Figured out that working hard is really worth it, when it’s for the right person.
• Lived in 8 different residences.
• Had 10 roommates (including KC!  And my sister 🙂 )
• Moved 12 times.  (It was awful every. time.) 
• Moved out of my parent’s house for good (age 24).
• Lived in a very transitional part of Oakland for 4 1/2 years (where I got grabbed walking home from BART one time, and saw someone get car jacked another time).
• Moved into the cutest little Tudor-style duplex on a street where I’m not scared walking at night (age 28). 
• Adopted Seuss (age 22). 
• Adopted Penny (age 28). 
• Went from not being able to afford anything, pretty much (age 20-26), to being a completely self-sufficient, financially independent adult.
• Lost my grandpa.
• Figured out that it’s way better to do what you want and be happy, than to try and make everyone else happy.
• Learned that drama isn’t worth my time, and it’s better to just be straightforward with people, even if it feels awkward.
• Learned that it’s better to be honest about being mad, even when it’s hard.
• Oh yeah, and started a blog (age 25). 

It’s been a pretty good/crazy/fun/amazing/transitional 10 years.  I can’t wait to see what the next 10 will bring.

It’s officially April, which means it’s officially the month of my birthday.  In just a week and a half’s time I turn 30 and I am PUMPED.

I get that some people don’t love their birthday.  Actually, scratch that — I don’t get it.  I love my birthday, hence why I’m super obnoxious throughout the entire month of April.  (Why have just a day to celebrate when you can claim an entire month?  I mean, those are the principles that America was founded on, am I right?)

I guess I don’t really see the tragedy in getting older.  Sure, being 21 sounds cool (and lord knows college was F-U-N), but being 21 I was also like, super broke all the time and constantly worried about what other people thought of my outfits and stuff.  (Sidenote: I wore a lot of sequined belts at that age.  Let’s think about that for a second, shall we?  Oh, 2005…)  Oh yeah, and I was studying for and taking the LSAT at that age — ew.

Then there’s turning 25 — another milestone.  And 25 is also awesome, because you’re a “grown-up” but still so young!  What a thrill.  But at 25 I was also OMGSOBROKE.  More broke than I was in college even (damn you, law school).  And at 25 I was studying for and taking the BAR exam.  I was also crying a lot.  (Those two things might have been related.)  Oh yeah, and I was UNEMPLOYED the entire time I was 25, which was so not awesome after working my butt off for 7 years in college + law school.

So anyway, I kinda think being young is overrated sometimes.  Don’t get me wrong — I definitely have a lot of fond memories of my 20s.  I think I will look back on this decade and marvel at the incredible amount of freedom I had/have (something which I don’t think I can even fully appreciate at this time).  But, with all the positive, big life changes happening in my 20s, there was also a lot of negatives.  A lot of uncertainty and struggle, which I think is just what happens when you’re figuring your life out in that decade.  And while I will definitely think fondly of my 20s, I’m pretty excited to start a whole new chapter — one that involves less insecurity, less instability, and less concern over other peoples’ judgments.  (I’ll wear sequin belts if I want to!  But I probably won’t.)  Oh yeah, and less being crazy broke.  (Literally, I used to stress out over whether I could afford to buy a coffee.  A COFFEE.  Not cool.)

So if you’re someone who hates birthdays, or has a general aversion to the idea of a “birthday month,” you might want to take a little break from reading the blog.  Because I plan on celebrating my 30th to my heart’s content.

(But really, you should totally have a birthday month too — being born and living another year is awesome, you should celebrate it!)

I don’t know about you, but I find that as I get older I’m less excited about gifts.  Birthdays, Christmas… I love them, sure; but it’s more about the spirit of the celebration than the gifts — for me anyway.

I also find that the gifts I want get less and less exciting each year.  I mean, I was like, super pumped to get a blanket for Christmas.  Last year I begged KC to get me a Clarisonic for my birthday, which ended up not even working with my stupidly particular skin (*sidenote: I’m looking to sell my Clarisonic Aria with travel charger, base stand and 2 brand-new, never-used sensitive brush heads — let me know if you’re interested.)

This year I may or may not have an absurdly expensive cat litter box on my birthday list.  (And by that I mean, I do.  Even I’m a little embarrassed by it.)

But whatever, in the event that you’re a boring semi-grown-up who loves random housewares like me, here’s my super not-exciting birthday list for this year.

1. ModKat Litter Box (because you’ve recently moved the litterbox into the one bathroom in your house, and it totally bugs you how big it is.  And you have a puppy who is just a little too curious about the goings-on in that mini sandbox.)

2. Triple Laundry Sorter with Hanging Bar (because you redid the laundry room and would love for it to not be overflowing with baskets full of clothes every week.)

3. Someone to take your car to get cleaned inside and out (because you’ve been repeating the phrase, “I really need to get my car cleaned” since before November…)

4. The perfect pair of blue jeans (because finding the perfect pair yourself isn’t hard enough — someone else should do it for you.)

5. A fancy night out (or hey, even a fancy night in.)

6. The (one, two, three) things you didn’t get for Christmas this year.

7. Something wonderful that you haven’t even thought of, because your birthday list is super lame this year.