Goodbye twentysomething...

I turn 30 in a couple of days and I have spent the last week contemplating what I have accomplished over the last ten years of my life. I have to say that I have done quite a bit in my 20s:

• I have traveled to all the continents except Antarctica
• I have made amazing friends
• I have lived in 5 states and 2 countries
• I have driven across the USA twice
• I learned 2 new languages
• I earned 2 masters degress
• I've attended 5 universities
• I have worked in a law office, a time-share office, a clothing store, 3 book stores, a fast food chain, a cardiophysiology lab, the CDC, and 3 universities
• I learned to cook
• I learned to appreciate wine and coffee
• I crossed a rope bridge high over a rainforest canopy
• I've experienced some of the poorest and wealthiest parts of this world
• I kept a plant alive ("The Sitck") throughout graduate school
• I can now make a killer whiskey sour, martini, and cosmo
• I rediscovered my love of piano
• I survived some heartbreaking experiences with men and learned from them
• I mourned the passing of my grandmothers and 2 close friends

Through all of this I managed to keep my sanity and the essential core of who I am as a person. Granted, there are days when I feel that I'm a lot more cynical and jaded than I was at 20 but along with those negatives I have gained a lot of perspective and I'm a much stronger and more confident woman than I was at 20. I'm looking forward to my 30s and many more adventures to come!!!