It's 2015 aka the year I turn 30...

Based on my title and your outlook on life and aging, you might assume that I have not been very excited about 2015 rolling around as it is the year I turn 30. Granted, I still have 9 months left of 29 but 30 has been looming over my head since last September. This may seem really silly to most but it has been haunting me for awhile considering I still feel like I should be 25 (best year ever btw), I have not accomplished a few life goals that others my age around me have done by now, and aging in general is starting to be scary instead of exciting as mortality is undeniable. I have been struggling a lot lately with comparing my life to other peers' lives. I have been feeling like the two biggest and most glaring "shortcomings" are not being married and not having kids while almost 30 years old.  This is definitely not how I envisioned my life to be and it's tough to see things that you want so badly happening to what seems like everyone else around you.  (I have a theory that this would be a lot less evident without Facebook but that's not the point...). The point is that I have been feeling very unenthusiastic about 2015 for quite some time and uncharacteristically pessimistic about the whole thing...until yesterday. Yesterday was honestly the day that I walked away from my pity party and started to really examine my personal accomplishments and change my perspective about the reality of the situation. The first is that among my close friends and colleagues, I'm really not alone. Social media and my extended family composition has made it seem like I'm an anomaly, but when compared to the people I see and interact with regularly, I'm really not. Ok - that puts things into perspective a little bit. Secondly, my independence as a non-wife and non-mother has allowed me to make a ton of life-changing decisions that have proven to be very beneficial for me.  While the kids/husband thing hasn't been checked off, I have been able to go to grad school, establish myself in a rewarding career that I love, buy myself a house and car and way too many clothes from Loft, and travel on a whim to any destination I choose. None of these things  would have been impossible had my circumstances been different but I do believe they might have been more difficult. It's a cliche but I am conceding that my very wise mother was always right. She encouraged me to not rush things and wait to get married and have children as my 20s were for learning about myself and enjoying life without major responsibility slowing me down. Entering this new year and approaching 30, I feel like at this point in my life I am very grounded, I know who I am and what I offer, and I can recognize my shortcomings. I am also looking forward to some things that will set me up better for the future. I'm working on some projects within my career as a school psych which are exciting to me. I started my own business in October by becoming an independent consultant for Scentsy and I'm looking forward to seeing how that business will grow. I have turned my hobby of upcycling and painting furniture into a small side job. I am starting my first instructor position teaching Developmental Psychology at a local community college, which is something I have been wanting to do for years. I have goals this year of paying down my debt, starting to actually save money, and leading a healthier lifestyle. And with all of this in store, I am optimistic that 30 won't be so bad after all.