A Dud
So...the bomb that was supposed to go off on my 30th birthday, was a dud. I turned 30, and didn't explode. I also didn't get a single thing done on my checklist. But I'm not disappointed. Instead, I seem to have taken on a new sense of self-confidence. Previously, I always felt a twinge of intimidation when passing by a group of teens or college kids. It's obvious to me that the feeling was the result of four years of high school where I was either ridiculed or feared the harassing comments of my peers on a daily basis. It has been 12 years since the trauma of high school, but prior to turning 30, I still felt a flutter in my stomach when walking past people younger than me, as if these strangers were going to somehow recognize me as the object of so many malicious rumors. Instead of automatically casting my eyes toward the floor when passing by youngsters, I now keep my eyes forward and my head held higher. With age comes wisdom. I suppose the old adage is true. I have reached my 30s where I am no longer in the same age class as these kids. I no longer have a reason to fear the persecution that I irrationally feared. This new age is liberating. It's not the beginning of the end as many people lament. For me, it has simply been, a beginning.
