Turning 30 has made me realize a few important things:
1. I am young as fuck no matter what cosmetic companies or first graders try telling me.
2. I am finally comfortable in my own skin and know how to grow and change in positive ways (turns out my gender is "who gives a fuck" and my sexuality is "people who are nice"; I have bigger priorities than playing Label Police).
3. I am capable of taking accountability.
4. I am able to practice patience and kindness even when I don't necessarily want to, and that fuckin rocks.
5. I am not the center of anyone's universe, not even my own (that spot is for my students), and acknowledging this fact has helped me develop a new, more solid sense of self-confidence.
6. Not giving a shit about what makes people happy (unless it's actively hurting someone else/the environment) makes life so much nicer all around, because that means we all have unique spaces to seek community.
7. Online discourse is dumb and you should talk to real people in the real world whenever you get the chance. I have made so many cool friends of all ages on the bus or in line at the store. I know so many unrecorded facts about my local area thanks to retired nurses, construction workers, and teachers that I've chatted with in passing.
8. We should all have more diverse queer friends. Like 90% of my friends are queer/trans and my life is full of color and art and Vocaloids and furries and bonfires and cosplay and movie nights and... yeah.
9. Making a big change is scary but almost always ends well. Even if you fail, you might be failing in the right direction.
10. The anime protagonists were right about not judging people and also reaching your goals. The less you care about what other people think about you (and it takes effort!) the easier and more beautiful it is to exist. After becoming the Next Hokage/King of the Pirates (a middle school teacher) and committing to a lazy 80s dad closet, I am incredibly fulfilled.
Anyway. Happy 30s to me, and to everyone staring down the barrel of a major life transition and fearing change: Don't freak out! I promise you it's gonna be worth it.
P.S. Thank you to all my beautiful international pals who have all wished me happy bday. It was such a sweet thing to wake up to 😭
