When I was about two, my Dad was washing the car in the driveway, and my little brain told me to climb into the bucket of suds. I don’t really remember doing this, I only remember the story and the pictures. Was it a moment of cuteness or just plain squirreliness?

Time moved on, everyone grew older and I moved out of the bucket and into a full set of braces. Junior and High school came and went and I somehow ended up at the ripe age of 21. I was living on my own, in a different state and away from my family. I always looked forward to 21. Not because I could drink legally…hell, I was drinking way before I turned 21! I felt like 21 was a fair age to be considered a fully functioning adult. Little did I know at the time. Now, nine long years later, 21 seems so young, and yes, even innocent.

Everyone says that your life begins in your thirties. Things start to get better, your life grows in different ways and you change. I wasn’t quite sure how I would feel about turning 30. Up until about 29.5, I really didn’t think about it.

The last year in my twenties wasn’t exactly a picnic. So many things happened for me personally and one event specifically changed my life forever. So when I reached the halfway point in my 29th year, I welcomed the thought of becoming 30.

It’s been a week and a day since my 30th birthday and oddly enough, I do feel a little different. I feel like I have turned a corner in my life. I went through all the experiences that a person should go through in his or her twenties. I tempted fate, I laughed, and I cried. I spent time with people I love, and people that drove me crazy. I witnessed life coming into the world, I witnessed life leaving this world.

Now, I look back and realize that my life won’t begin at 30, I’ve already lived and it will only get better.