30 before 30

(Oh, hi! I am back! Some of you probably have forgotten who I am... well this blog series will be a good reminder! Thanks for welcoming me back after a six month hiatus. I appreciate it!)

In exactly 30 days I will turn 30 years old...


30 used to seem so far away. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I thought 30 was an age of accomplishment. I expected to feel and act a certain way. Now that I am just 30 days away, I can't say that I feel older or accomplished like I imagined I would. I just feel like me.

Many people have a 30 before 30 list or some sort of life list. There are things I want to do and accomplish in this lifetime, but as I have gotten closer to this milestone age I have found myself thinking less about what I haven't accomplished and more about what I have.

I am dedicating these next 30 days to writing about the things I have done in my life. Some of them are big things, others are significant only to me or my family. But they are all things that I am proud of.

So without futher ado...

30 before 30: I graduated from high school

Ok, don't judge me for choosing that as my first accomplishment. There was never any doubt that I would graduate from high school. Graduating is not what I am most proud of. What makes high school an accomplishment for me is that I allowed it to shape me. I learned how to be comfortable with myself and my relationships. I learned that who I am is valuable and worthy. And I had fun.

I went to an all-girls Catholic school named Loretto. My parents encouraged me to go there because of the academic challenge. I was excited to go there because I needed a change from the small, suburban public school system I had grown up in. It was scary to change school systems. I knew only one acquaintance going there. I was terrified that I would be judged and disliked. I wasn't sure if I would make friends.

And you know what? I loved that place and the people I met there. I revered the teachers and built life-long relationships with my peers. I learned to believe in myself and my abilities. I learned how to be a good friend. I grew in my faith and spirituality. I left high school more whole.

I am proud of the four years I spent in that place. I am proud to have been a student there and thankful that I had the opportunity to walk through the gates there each and every day. And most of all, I am happy that the relationships that started on that small campus in 1996 are still thriving in my life.