Every year I journal on my birthday, I look back on what I journaled the year before and it’s always amazing to see how far I’ve come in a year. Day-to-day it always feels you are kind of in the same place, but looking year over year you get to see how much progress you actually have made.

Except it would appear that I did not journal on my 29th birthday, so I looked back at 27 and 28 and it was very interesting. Apparently, on my 27th birthday I made a 30 by 30 list. And put four things on it:

1. Accept and embrace your body as it is – this is kind of so. I have made a lot of progress here. I am not 100%, but I don’t think there is such a thing as 100% confident with appearance. Everyone has their hang ups, no matter how objectively perfect society has decided someone looks, they still have something they don’t like about themselves. So, I’ve made progress, which is good.
2. Have your own place that you pay for – yes. And while I understand why 27 year old me put me on this list, I sometimes do wish I was back in that free apartment.
3. Don’t carry a credit card balance – LOL, this has only gotten worse.
4. A newer car – Yes. I have upgraded from a 2008 Ford to a 2014 Chevy. Only because Phoebe literally fell apart, but I do have a newer car. I don’t know if the car I currently have is what I was imagining when I said a newer car, but what’s really funny is now my goal is to live somewhere I don’t have to have a car.

Biggest Lesson Learned:

Keep you mouth shut, especially if you are in the right. The truth always comes out, but if you try and prove yourself, prove your side you will end up looking just as bad as the person who is in the wrong.

Sound track of 29:

• All Taylor Swift (I still cannot believe I have seen her in concert)
• Rolling Up the Welcome Mat – Kelsea Ballerini
• A Touch of the Beat Gets You Out on the Feet and Into the Sun – Aly and A.J.
• With Love From – Aly and A.J.
• Emails I Can’t Send – Sabrina Carpenter
• Surrender – Maggie Rogers
• Sour – Olivia Rodrigo
• And an assortment of music by: The Brummies, Haim, Kacey Musgraves, Fleetwood Mac, and Maren Morris
• Podcasts including: Maintenance Phase, U Up, You’re Wrong About, It’s Me, Tinx, The Sunday Scaries Podcast, CBC Frontburner, Sounds Like a Cult

Goals for 30

• Get out of this crappy little town
• Get a new job
• Work towards not carrying a credit card balance
• Take care of your health (like literally, go to the doctor when you need to).
• Stop spending the entire weekend doing chores
• Give cash envelope budgeting a try
• Save up $5000 minimum
• Stop going into overdraft every month

Motto: Will me in one year be proud of this?

I’m looking forward to my thirties, from what I’ve heard, they are a really good decade. Like your 20s, but with more money, more confidence, and less school.

Laura