So, as I sit here typing this blog, I am just a week shy of my 30th birthday. I've talked with some of my friends, and they have struggled with the "Big 3-0." To me, however, it's inevitable. Why fret about something you have absolutely no control over, like time? It's just not in my nature, I guess. But it does have me thinking. My life now is nothing like I planned it to be. I only have a few Type A traits, and one of those is definitely "planning." I plan how I think things will go, what I'll do if they don't go that way, and typically a second contingency plan. In the words of one of my dear heathens, "It's what I do!" Of course, since I plan on things not exactly going according to schedule, I TRY to be flexible. Sometimes I do better with this than others. Inevitably, though, right before I need to be somewhere, my pager will go off, and I'm headed out the door to help someone else, putting my plans on hold. But it's been 11 years of this...I'm used to it by now. It is because of this new found "flexibility" that I'm not stressed over "the big day." It is what it is, or rather what I make of it.
My "plan" for 30 was:
To be a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
To be married.
To have a child(ren).
To be in Wisconsin.
To love my job, and love the work I do.
To volunteer wherever I saw fit.
To travel.
My "actual" for 30:
I'm a counselor for juvenile delinquents.
I'm single.
No children (though I have been fortunate to enjoy other's children!)
Back in Illinois.
Fortunately, I do love my job (some days, it's just "okay"), and I do love the work I do (even if I rarely see the pay-off.)
I've given 11 years of service back to my community, and plan to continue doing so as long as I can.
My travels are to Wisconsin. And I think I'm okay with that!
Funny how life works out sometimes, huh? I've been blessed to be surrounded by great people who treat me well. They have made all the difference in the world. Am I where I want to be? Nope, not even close. But I think I'm happy with where I am. Afterall, without all the things I've been through, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I am forever humbled and grateful. To celebrate, I'll be headed to Las Vegas (for the first time!) in April with my friend Wendi, who's turning 40. We'll be joined by some other great friends, and I CANNOT wait! So here's to the next 30, may they be as amazing as the first!
About Me
- amanda
- I guess I should start with the basics. I'm Amanda, and I've decided to blog as a way to vent. I like to read other people's blogs, so we'll see how this goes. Hope you like it!
2 comments:
You have a wonderful perspective. Things don't always go as planned, but you're right the things we've been through shape us and mold us, so it's hard to not appreciative of it all, even the bad, even the "not planned". Thanks for the reminder.
Isn't it funny how life never quite turns out how we expect/plan? As a co-worker was saying to me this morning: "Life happens." And it's better to let it lead you where it wants you to go, rather than us holding on so tight, trying to manipulate it into the shape we'd designed in our minds. I'd say you're doing pretty darn good, actually, for your big milestone birthday coming up. You have a job you enjoy that really, truly makes a difference, you volunteer on a regular basis, and you are extremely talented and make beautiful things people adore. You rock, girlfriend!
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