The running joke the editorial team and I have is that millennials are tired of living during unprecedented times. From the pandemic to all the other massive moments the last few decades, I've felt like I've been living in a weird vortex for the...majority of my life.
Despite — and maybe sometimes because of — it all, it wasn't until my recent birthday that I realized I've grown a lot. I thought the things I learned in my 20s were clues I'd 'arrived' as a 30-something-year-old, but it turns out I still hadn't fully accepted that learning hard truths isn't always bad in the long run.
I do this weird thing where I tend to focus on things I feel have to be done instead of focusing on how far I've come, but that changed when I turned 33. For the first time, I didn't have a huge celebration that ended in anxiety on my birthday. I relaxed at home with a ton of comfort food, scary movies, and a list of 33 things I have to be grateful for. So, how did I get here?
Let's go back to the beginning of the year, shall we?
I Intentionally Dubbed 2024 My Personal Victory Year
Viridiana Rivera
I, like so many others, woke up on January 1st and decided it would be my year. I set intentional resolutions, goals, and even made sure to be specific about them. Similar to how I write in-depth articles, I broke them into the following sections:
- Motherhood
- Relationships
- Career
- Wellbeing
- Spiritual
It's the first year I decided to listen to my heart's desires in order to capture a screenshot of the life I want to live. I even prayed over my resolutions and goals, asking to be guided as I accomplished things or were led to them. As February rolled around, I didn't really think twice about the impact of what I'd done because life started to fall into a familiar hum that becomes mundane after a while.
I guess I needed to be reminded of the intentional goals I'd written down because things got painfully interesting after this.
My First Adult Car Was Totaled
Gustavo Fring
Car accidents are never fun as I've been on the receiving end of one before, but this wasn't like before. This time I was emotionally hurt to learn the first car I'd assumed total responsibility for was no longer going to be mine. Though I knew I was lucky no one was seriously harmed, all I could think about is the morning I paid it off. I had every reason to spend the nice bonus I received from my last job, but I decided paying off my car mattered more in that moment.
This is the car that took me from my parents' home to living on my own, trips out of town, and days spent buckling a newborn into his carseat. For 8 years, this car and I were locked in like besties. It truly felt like we'd grown up together so to have it ripped away so suddenly was heartbreaking.
Even though the SUV I got was aligned with everything my fiancé and I were talking about, I couldn't appreciate it for a while because I all could see what was what I had.
I Took A Chance On A Full-Time Creative Career
George Milton
Once I started making peace with having a new vehicle, I started feeling the urge to leave my first adult job behind. I'd spent 10 years there, but it was becoming obvious that it was time to leave the nest. Similar to my first car, my co-workers watched me go from a wide-eyed college student to a confident adult. Though I learned so much there, I knew it wasn't where I wanted to be forever.
Deciding to leave what felt familiar was one of the scariest things I'd ever done and I spent days wondering if I'd made the right choice. It's not that writing wasn't lucrative, but I had to learn how to navigate a remote job that's been unlike any role I've had before. My imposter syndrome was in overdrive because I was waiting for the shoe to drop off my other foot.
Thoughts like "What if I'm not good enough" or "What if my co-workers hate me," plagued my mind because I couldn't believe I'd taken a chance on myself that seemed like it was working in my favor. That only happens in movies, right? In this case, wrong.
The same month I truly decided to focus on my writing career is when I interviewed Whoopi Goldberg. Since then, I've gone on to talk to different authors and even moderated my first book event in Atlanta. But, it still took a while for me to truly be grateful for the amazing things that's happened this year.
The Day I Turned 33 Put Everything Into Perspective
KoolShooters
PMS plagued me for the better part of last week, so I decided to listen to my body and not do anything for my birthday. I kept waiting for myself to feel disappointed for not getting dressed up, but the feeling never came. The sad part is I almost wanted it to because who doesn't want to celebrate their birthday?
It turns out that I did celebrate, even if it wasn't in the typical 'party and dinner' way.
Deciding to focus on feeling peaceful in my new space, I opened my journal and started writing 33 things I'm grateful for. I didn't think I could find that many things, but it got easier to start being appreciative of life instead of focusing on everything I'd even thought went wrong.
In between bites of pizza and cheesy bread, I dropped all expectations and started writing. The more I wrote, the happier I felt which makes me wonder why I didn't do this before. So, without further ado, here is everything I realized during my gratitude practice this year!
The Things I'm Most Grateful For Right Now:
Brit + Co
"I'm grateful for quiet moments where I can hit the reset button when I need to."
Brit + Co
"I’m grateful for moments I’ve accepted accountability for my actions."
Brit + Co
"I’m grateful for having a supportive family and fiancé."
Brit + Co
"I'm grateful for forgiveness and chances to start over."
Brit + Co
"I’m grateful for the beauty and joy of reading."
Jade Rideout
- I'm grateful for home-cooked meals.
- I'm grateful for praying grandmothers.
- I'm grateful for older siblings I get along with.
- I'm grateful for reminders I'm not alone.
- I'm grateful for the gift of writing.
- I'm grateful for time spent in nature.
- I'm grateful for having friends in my life who feel like family.
- I'm grateful for my mom introducing me to therapy before my 20s.
- I'm grateful for every day I wake up with air in my lungs.
- I'm grateful for moments that cause me to slow down and think before acting.
- I'm grateful for multiple seasons of growth.
- I'm grateful for my first full-time writing job.
- I'm grateful I work with one of the best teams ever.
- I'm grateful for having access to food, shelter, and a transportation.
- I'm grateful for having an active imagination.
- I'm grateful for being able to watch my son grow.
- I'm grateful for learning about the ins and outs of postpartum so I can help other new moms!
- I'm grateful for having a new place to live that's cozy.
- I'm grateful for watching the seasons change.
- I'm grateful I get to learn what it means to have a healthy romantic relationship.
- I'm grateful for boundaries.
- I'm grateful for understanding my parents betters.
- I'm grateful I'm still in tune with my inner kid.
- I'm grateful for book clubs.
- I'm grateful for the amazing authors I've come across.
- I'm grateful for funny memes on social media.
- I'm grateful for hot chocolate — yes, I'm serious.
- I'm grateful for LIFE itself.
Ironically, some of the things I'm grateful for can serve as inspirational fall quotes — which is perfect since my birthday is days after the Autumn Equinox! Aside from that realization, I can genuinely say writing down what I'm grateful for made my birthday better than it's been in years.
I've been focusing on everything that can go right instead of comparing my life to other people and it's a welcomed change. Maybe this is just one of the perks of getting older. If so, sign me up for more birthdays like this!
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