Shit, I turn 29 in 3 weeks!!

The last couple weeks have been rough. Honestly, I've been freaking out... and over what? Right, the fact that I am nearing my 29th birthday. I am not kidding you! I have been obsessing about the fact that I am closer to 30. Now, most guys I know won't understand, but I know that my fellow ladies will! Turning 30 is a huge deal, made even bigger by the fact that I am single, don't own a house, and am still working on my career. My parent's were married with children by 24, and here I am - nearly 29 - and I can't even keep a dog because my life is such an unpredictable rollercoaster! 

But today I thought about it, and I realized that I am exactly where I should be, doing what I should be doing. Not only that, but I am damn proud of all I have experienced and accomplished over the last 29 years. I entered 20 years old as a quiet, naive, innocent girl who spent 80% of her free time (time outside of school and work) with her family, someone who didn't know how to pay a bill and hated driving on the highway, and became an independant woman who is well traveled, educated, can take care of herself and takes 100% responsibility for her life. These last 9 years have been insane! I experienced college, fell in love, went to graduate school, had my heart broken, lived on my own, traveled to 5 countries in either 3 or 4 continents (I forget if Belize belongs to North or South America), have had my life fall to pieces around me, and learned to pick those pieces up and make my life better. I saw a miracle in my cousin surviving an extreme case of pancreatic cancer. I swam with sharks and even did a night dive in Australia. I have driven on the opposite side of the road on the opposite side of the car. I have also driven along practically the entire east coast of the USA. I went to hear the Dalai Lama speak, met Alyssa Milano, saw Johnny Depp in concert, got tattoos, partied on a yaht, went skinny dipping in the Atlantic, held a baby sea turtle, and have been mere feet near manatees and alligators out in nature. I learned about different cultures and have tried some exotic food (if you consider kangaroo and emu exotic). Sure, there are people who have seen and done more, I know a few myself. But I think I have had a packed, fun, insane decade full of some pretty cool things. So of course I don't own a house. No, I'm not married or even in a relationship. I've had other things going on, occupying my time, and shaping me into the person I am today. 

So 29...I am ready for you! And you better believe that this final year in my 20's will be one worthy of wrapping up the previous 9.