So This is Me at 30

Time is a funny thing. Sometimes something that happened 10 years ago feels like it happened just yesterday; and something that happened a month ago feels like it happened eons ago.

Like some of these other past birthdays from the last decade - I could swear I was just feeling psyched about turning 21 and finally being an adult, or turning 26 and being weeks away from marrying my best friend:

Top left: turning 20 (10 years ago today); Top right: turning 24 (celebrating with my graduate school roommate); Bottom left: drinking away quarter-century blues at the Rio with Kevin and Kelley; Bottom right: turning 26 (growing out my hair for my wedding day)

Today I'm really just a day older than I was yesterday, but I'm taking the step into the next decade of my life. The last decade feels like it was over in a heartbeat- but looking back, I really accomplished and experienced a lot.

My decade in review:
I went to college and thought I was going to be an English major. I fell in love with astronomy and the maps of stars in the sky. I switched to physics for a major instead, and added astrophysics, so I graduated with a double major. I wrote an honors' thesis. I worked for an amazing scientist (wait, make that at least two). I joined a sorority, made a lot of great friends, but was pretty sick of it by the end (the sorority, not the friends).

I traveled around the world. On a ship. I had the best 3 months of my life (I vow that I'll go back). I fell in love with traveling. I went backpacking in Europe with my sister, twice- and we also had some pretty crazy adventures in Peru and Alaska. I went to some conferences in awesome locations- like Norway and Australia and Italy. I went on what could only have been the best honeymoon ever to Greece. All said and done, I visited 26 different countries in the last decade.

I went to graduate school in a subject I love- for 6 years. There were parts that sucked and parts that were great, but I met some amazing people, and I wrote and published two papers. I got my Masters and PhD. I lived in Fort Collins and loved it (almost) as much as Boulder. I moved to Loveland but wasn't too crazy about it.

I knew the decade was going to be a good one because it started with me meeting the man I would marry 6 years later- and now we've been married for 4 years. There were rough times- like when he went to Kuwait in 2003- but mostly it's been very happy. We had a great wedding, in a castle, in Colorado, with all our loved ones. It was the best party ever! My husband is the best. I'm so glad I've shared this decade with him.

I said a sad goodbye to my childhood cat. I brought Karma into my life, and then Bixby. I said goodbye to my childhood home. I cried. We moved to Baltimore, and it's different, but not in a bad-way different, just in a I'm-still-figuring-this-whole-East-Coast-thing-out kind of different. I started my first job- and my first blog (long-since retired- this is my second).

The world is different than it was 10 years ago. I'm different. I feel pretty much the same (except for that whole hiatal hernia thing, and the fact that I no longer have nearly enough time to work out).

I hope the next 10 years are as awesome as this last decade. I certainly have high hopes! I'm going to try to focus on all the amazingness that is down the road, instead of feeling sad for what is already over (though sometimes, it's very hard to let go). Hello, 30!