...and then I turned 30

Yep. 30. I'm 30 now. The dreaded 30...

I used to think it would reeeeeeeeally bother me to be 30--it's only 10 years away from 40 (gasp! oldness!)--but actually it's sort of exhilarating. I feel a little less "bound," if that makes any sense. I've passed the first big hurdle. I'm actually okay being in the middle of 20 and 40. I am becoming more comfortable with me. I like me. It's empowering.

Older people who read this are probably rolling their eyes right now, but that's okay. They were here once upon a time. They remember what it was like to pass through the "I'm not a kid anymore, am I? But I'm not old yet either. So what am I?" years.

I'll tell you what I am. I am a woman who is slowly rediscovering her childhood love of bright colors. Oh, you should have seen me as a kid. I had an orange skirt with primary color geometric shapes that I loved to death! My mom made it for me. I requested those colors deliberately. You remember that skirt, Mom? It had a matching little wrist purse and it was the most awesome. Skirt. EVER!

I'm not so sure I'll go that far in my self-expression again--though I am hoping to find a cute mustard yellow shirt at Goodwill someday soon. Not sure why it needs to be mustard yellow. It just does, okay?--but I am stretching and exploring in other ways.

I am buying nail polish that I would never have dreamed of wearing as a teenager because it was too "different." And that's not all I'm doing.

Neon Salmon toenails are no longer beyond me. :)

I'm making patterns (and from those patterns come brightly patterned shirts).

I'm knitting grapefruit colored hats.

I am slowly rediscovering the weird artistic independence of my childhood and it feels great. I am stretching and exploring myself in ways that I didn't really feel comfortable trying as a 20-something.

Then: What will people think if I wear this with this?
Now: I like those colors. Ryan thinks it's cute. I'm wearing it.

But I'm going to have to put the intrepid exploring on hold for the night because it's late, I'm tired, and I spent the last hour or so knitting until I could no longer see straight. Artists suffer, oh yes they do.

Last effervescent, artsy thought of the day: Your age does not define you, but you can define your age, so go be young at heart!

p.s. If you actually really are young, like a teenager, or a seven-year-old, it's okay to be young at heart too. (Though I have no idea why a seven-year-old would be reading this blog. Shouldn't they be outside playing, getting sunburnt and enjoying their childhood?)