Turning 30 - Allowing Myself To Be Celebrated

Ever since I was a kid, I would get shy and overwhelmed about my birthday. I felt like there was a lot of pressure to “celebrate” a certain way, spend time with so many different people, be in an amazing mood, look incredible, and turn it into this “thing.” When I was little, I would cry if people sang me happy birthday.

When I turned 21, which was my last “monumental” birthday, I took a solo trip to Amsterdam by myself for a music festival. All the other girls in my sorority did the normal “shot book” with the big bar crawl event, and I didn’t want anyone to have to do that for me.

So all this to say, I’ve always had a weird external relationship with my birthday. Internally, I have no issue with the idea of getting older. I have always lived by the idea that each year of my life will get better, present new opportunities, have new lessons to overcome, and more experiences that add to the richness of my life.

In turning 30, I decided to let go of any expectations or pressure. I decided to spend my birthday in Omaha, where the majority of my family and friends live.

It was such a special week. We had a backyard hang out at my friend Jessie’s, I went to play pickleball and bowling with my family, got more Link x Lou permanent jewelry, went to Vala’s pumpkin patch, drove to the country to see the northern lights, and had a few coffee shop dates with loved ones.