As my birthday slowly creeps up on me this weekend,it's still crazy to think that I'm about to complete to complete my first year in my 30's. Gunna keep this blog post short and sweet by telling you what I learned in my 30th year.

Do the things that scare you. 😱

There are tons of things that quite frankly I'm scared of. One of those things was dying my hair. I went twenty-eight years on this earth without having even tried putting color into my hair at least once...even in that highlight phase everyone went through during their teenage years. At age 29, I marinated on the idea of dying my hair, but the damaging effects scared the crud out of me. I tried to use the semi-permanent dye, but with my naturally brown locks, it just wasn't possible to get the red I wanted. I came to the conclusion there was only one way to really get the look I wanted. So, I did it. 😁 And somehow in what felt like a natural flow of occurrences, Purple also showed up in my color palette. And you know what...I couldn't be happier. 🦄 #mylittleponystatus #redandpurplehairdontcare

God's plan on your life holds supreme over the opinions of others. 🙌🏻 👏🏻

At my age and seemingly in my culture, if you aren't married or have children yet, something is wrong with you. Although I have been happily married for some time, "The Great Baby Debate" has been a seemingly key topic amongst some family and friends. While I'm not going to divulge anything in this post about our plans on having wee ones, I'll say this: The topic is old and you need to find new conversations to have with those who fall into either category - Unwed or Childless. You as the reader may think I'm being harsh, but I am speaking for myself and others in this life stage. I'm going to channel six-year-old Monique, who would quote the best characters of all 90's sitcoms and say that this topic, quite frankly, is none of your beeswax and quite frankly how rude it is to bring it up (while flipping her ponytail and sassily walking out of the room). By continually questioning folks about this, you are stealing their joy in the season they are in. Yes...essentially telling your loved ones that their lives are completely unfulfilled unless they have these life stages checked off on their list. God has a plan for all of our lives already written. Whether it includes these life stages in them or not, it is not for you to instigate and continually question someone on something that may be completely out of their own control or just not in their current season in life.

Live your life in the now. Later may not happen. ✨

By no means do I mean that you should rush to your nearest tattoo shop and get some fresh, insensible ink. I mean if there is something in life you want to do badly enough, try for it. If you have felt called to sing, go for it. If you feel like you are unhappy at your 9 to 5 and have a dream of having another career, set plans and steps to make it happen. If you want to travel the world and no magic carpet to take you there, remember we use airplanes, trains, and automobiles to get there too. 🌎 We only have one life to live, friends. Let's make that dash on our tombstone be more than just a simple grammatical punctuation.

Ok, I'm jumping off of my seemingly small soapbox in hopes that you've been encouraged or been able to take away something from my experience in this new life chapter. I'm going to, hopefully, enjoy as much Carvel Ice Cream Cake and time with the peeps I love. Happy, Happy Birthday to Me. 🎂 ✨