“I can’t wait until I’m thirty. They say that you’ll just have so much more figured out by then, and I read somewhere that people actually hated being teenagers.” I was waiting for the light to change on the North end of campus with my friend Jenna. We were walking to the Student Union to get udon, which will not be surprising to those who know me.

In my estimation, there are maybe four “cool” milestone birthdays: at age 10, you become inducted into the world of the two-digits that most humans do not yet outlive; age 18, when you can finally vote (as I did), proclaim yourself an adult to your parents (as I did), and carouse in public drinking establishments as is the case in many countries (as I most certainly did); I’ll make note of 21 for those of us Stateside; and 90, for the congratulations that you get for officially belonging to those who we call the long-lived.

I’ve thought a lot about turning 30 this entire year. I’ve learned a lot. Felt more like an adult. Heard someone say that people finally looked at her as a full-fledged adult when she turned 40. Met precocious 24 year olds, and immature 60 year olds. Seen people live lives of emotional abundance and ease. Seen its opposite. And I’ve begun to realize that to a hammer, every problem is a nail. Whoever came up with Dory’s catchphrase in Finding Nemo – “Just keep swimming” – was absolute genius.

The point is, most birthdays when you’re allowed to serve as a point of reflection. As the day inches closer, it’s surprising that I have not come to rue those words. In celebration of the 30 days leading up to my 30th, I am running full steam ahead with a 30-day challenge of 15 things to incorporate into my life. I will be aggregating 5 new and successive challenges / habits every 10 days until my birthday. Won’t you come join me?

30 DAY CHALLENGE

1. Drink 6-8 cups water/day
2. Daily sweetgreen-sized serving of leafy greens
3. 30 minutes of exercise/day
4. 10 minutes of meditation/day
5. No social media until noon
6. Daily 1 sentence gratitude + intention setting
7. 10 min EOD journaling
8. 10 min next-day planning
9. 10 min financial journaling
10. 3 deep breaths at 12:00pm
11. Read fiction 10 mins daily
12. Daily self affirmations
13. Creative writing – 500 words/day
14. Curiosity Indulgence: Spend 1 hour/day learning a new thing.
15. Spend 1 hour/day working on existing personal projects.

#AJNdoes30to30