Reflection

Wow.
I'm thirty. 3-0.

Seems like an appropriate time to take stock on my life.... give myself some perspective

Let's see, I've...

• visited 12 countries on 3.5 continents (Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, United Kingdom [England, Northern Ireland, Scotland], Ireland, France, Spain, Belgium, Morocco, Mexico and Russia), attempted to learn 6 languages (English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, and the smallest bit of Russian)
  

• traveled to/within 17 states of the union (Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Virginia, New York, and a bonus point for Washington, D.C.)

• worked under two totally different Administrations as a fiscal policy adviser, shifted from a fiscal liberal to a fiscal conservative (relatively speaking), voted in every election open to me since I turned 18 and selected candidates in three different political parties
  

• met the love of my life

• attended four Universities and loved each for separate reasons, had three major career shifts, and started plugging away at a master's degree
  

• been pulled over five times, been written two tickets
  

• lived in ten houses in six cities (Davis, Fremont, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Utrecth), had 14 pets (two birds, four cats, one hamster, and probably seven fish)
  

• owned three cars, all manual transmission

• laughed and cried and laughed until i cried with a handful of wonderful friends, watched some get married, some fall out of love, some create someone new, watched some die, some thrive, some fall, and some soar to heights I never knew imaginable.
  

• discovered that my favorite places are filled with more memories than anything else

• taken on numerous new hobbies: snowboarding, radio broadcasting, scrapbooking, geocaching, kayaking, nieces spoiling, wine drinking, world traveling, phase10 playing, discuss throwing, Boggling, blogging, etc. (some, admittedly, I am far better at than others!)
  

I think 30 is great. I have no fears of what the future holds for me. While I know my decisions are not always the best, most are made with care and thoughtfulness, thus I feel confident that while the path may not always be the easiest to travel down, the ending outcome will benefit me. Life is a wonderful game to play, filled with intense joy, pitfalls, challenges, more love than I thought possible, and laughter to deal with the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between. I know I am incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such caring, loving and friendly individuals. My friends and family are my pillars of strength. Without you, I couldn't be me, and I cherish you more than you know. Thank you for seeing me through the first thirty.... looking forward to the next!