I’ve been excitedly looking forward to my 30^th birthday for months and months. Back in the fall, I shared a bit of a synopsis of all of the many things I experienced in my twenties. These past few weeks have been full of posts about goals and intentions for the year, so sharing a list of intentions for my thirties seems a little excessive. However, I’ve been so excited about this birthday, that I just had to think it through.

When I attempted to nail down where this excitement comes from, I couldn’t come up with a ton of reasons. In a nutshell, I feel like turning 30 gives me some legitimacy. I’ve always been “wise beyond my years” and always felt a good 5-10 years older than I actually was. As a teenager, I was always referred to as “mature.” (We can talk about reasons for that another day.) In my twenties, I sometimes felt like people didn’t take me seriously enough. As I approached my late twenties, I felt too old to relate to the younger folks and too young to relate to those older than me. Thirty felt like a perfect middle ground.

As I thought about what I expected my thirties to bring, I became so very excited. Without firm reasoning, it feels like this will be my decade. Thirty will be my year. With just two days left before I officially turn the big 3-0, I thought I’d share a bit about what I’m expecting of the next several years.

1. I think this is when I’ll come into my own. I’ve grown so much in the last 10 years that It’s hard to explain the ways. I’ve learned so much about myself and I see the opportunity to take that knowledge and learn even more because of it. I feel like my thirties are when I’ll develop most into who I’m meant to me. I also expect to finally have the courage to just be that person.
2. I think I’ll develop a routine in business. In addition to learning a lot about myself, I’ve learned a lot about business. I see 1,000 opportunities on the horizon and I feel like I’ll get to realize a lot of those in the next few years. I look forward to taking risks in business and developing a long term routine for my work environment…one that supports my goals and ambitions.
3. I think I’ll move. Whether Matthew and I stay here or move to a faraway land, I expect that we’ll make a move in the next several years. In my dreams, I have a pretty clear vision of what the next house will look/feel like, and I can’t wait! One of my most prevalent life goals in to create a home that we’re always thrilled to come home to, serves as a welcoming ground for all of our friends and family, and gives us the space to relax and try new, creative things.
4. I think I’ll develop my creative side. I’ve been dodging my creativity for a lack of time for years now. I hope that my thirties are spent testing my creative boundaries and trying many, many new things.
5. I think I’ll spend a lot of time nurturing relationships. I hope to spend a lot of time with the people I love over the next several years. Experiences and quality relationships mean so much to me.
6. I think I’ll see the world. Matthew and I have really upped our travel game this past year and have even more plans for 2016. I expect that the next decade will bring with it experiences from around the world, and I simply can’t wait for that.
7. I think I’ll go after several someday goals. I’m in the process of actually writing down what these someday goals are. I have all of these things tucked away in my mind that I hope to do…someday. I expect that I’ll go after several of those in my thirties.

If I had to sum it all up, I’d say that my main intention for my thirties is to truly become who I want to be and to mold my life into the peaceful landscape that I can imagine. I can so clearly see what I want my daily life to look like, and I hope to spend the next decade making that dream a reality. I’m sure there will be hundreds of additional hopes and dreams that weave their way into reality over the next ten years. Some of them I might not even be able to imagine yet. Regardless, I know that when I sit down to write something similar about turning forty, I’ll have so much to consider! I hope that the words flow out abundantly over what I’ve seen, done, and realized. I intend to spend the next ten years being sure that I can write that piece with excitement.

On the surface, it seems like my 30^th birthday will be just another day. After all, how much of a difference can one hour on a clock make? I don’t expect to turn into a magical creature when the clock strikes midnight (or maybe I will…we’ll see!). Instead, I just use this birthday as a jumping off point for a new chapter…much like we do for the new year. It’s as if you finish one paragraph strongly (my twenties) and it lends itself to new adventures to explore as you turn the page to something equally as fascinating (my thirties). It’s not about the actual date or the time. It’s about the mindset. And today, as I sit here preparing for the day to come, I feel excited and encouraged that this will be my year.