Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving...
It's been nearly a month since my last post where I said goodbye to the Camry and a lot has happened in that time - I joined various car share services, I turned 30 and we all celebrated Pride.
I've now been car-less for more than a month and I'll be honest it is a liberating feeling. Although ironically I think I have actually driven more in the past month using car2go than I had in the 3 months prior when I actually owned a car. But I guess that is the bi-product of being able to drive one way and leave the car and not have to worry about it any more.
Aside from being recently liberated from car ownership, I also turned 30 years old. I know so hard to believe that DC's Third Favorite Otter is actually 30, but it's true! Some people dread turning 30, but I was never one of them. Actually, when it happened and I entered my third decade of life I had a feeling I can't quite explain - the closest way to describe it is really a new found level of confidence. Like - bitch I am here, take it or leave it. Like all of us, I experienced a lot of growth and learned a lot of life lessons in my 20s and it seemed like in an instant I was shedding that layer and fully coming into my own.
A lot of people take getting older and birthdays to dwell on the fact that they are not quite where they thought they would be at a certain age. To be honest, I was never one of them because the story that I told about my future when I was younger was a carefully fabricated lie. See if you would have asked me back then where I saw myself at 30, I would have said married to a woman with kids and happy in what likely would be an engineering career. While on the surface I exuded happiness and confidence, on the inside I was in the midst of a struggle to find the courage to be myself - my gay, social justice career oriented self.
It took a few years, but by my mid-twenties I was able to finally shed all the pieces of shame and guilt that held me back and let the truly happy and confident me shine through. I've faced challenges, as we all do, but I will be the first to admit that I have been truly blessed in my life. I have incredible friends, a loving family, believe it or not a good degree of patience and passion, and of course a burning desire to leave the world better than I found it.
So, I raise a glass and say cheers to 30 - I think it is going to be the best year and decade yet!
And because no blog post is complete without pictures - here is a 30th birthday collage!
With love,
DC3FO
I've now been car-less for more than a month and I'll be honest it is a liberating feeling. Although ironically I think I have actually driven more in the past month using car2go than I had in the 3 months prior when I actually owned a car. But I guess that is the bi-product of being able to drive one way and leave the car and not have to worry about it any more.
Aside from being recently liberated from car ownership, I also turned 30 years old. I know so hard to believe that DC's Third Favorite Otter is actually 30, but it's true! Some people dread turning 30, but I was never one of them. Actually, when it happened and I entered my third decade of life I had a feeling I can't quite explain - the closest way to describe it is really a new found level of confidence. Like - bitch I am here, take it or leave it. Like all of us, I experienced a lot of growth and learned a lot of life lessons in my 20s and it seemed like in an instant I was shedding that layer and fully coming into my own.
A lot of people take getting older and birthdays to dwell on the fact that they are not quite where they thought they would be at a certain age. To be honest, I was never one of them because the story that I told about my future when I was younger was a carefully fabricated lie. See if you would have asked me back then where I saw myself at 30, I would have said married to a woman with kids and happy in what likely would be an engineering career. While on the surface I exuded happiness and confidence, on the inside I was in the midst of a struggle to find the courage to be myself - my gay, social justice career oriented self.
It took a few years, but by my mid-twenties I was able to finally shed all the pieces of shame and guilt that held me back and let the truly happy and confident me shine through. I've faced challenges, as we all do, but I will be the first to admit that I have been truly blessed in my life. I have incredible friends, a loving family, believe it or not a good degree of patience and passion, and of course a burning desire to leave the world better than I found it.
So, I raise a glass and say cheers to 30 - I think it is going to be the best year and decade yet!
And because no blog post is complete without pictures - here is a 30th birthday collage!
With love,
DC3FO