Today is my birthday. I am twenty-nine years old. The last year of my twenties! I know age is “nothing but a number” but there’s always a whiff of symbolism to me about entering a new decade in life. I made a big decision today. I turned down a job offer that, while interesting and related to where I would like to take my career, happened to come just as I had made another choice on where to take my life, at least for a little while. Anything can happen in the next six months, but come the end of summer, I am planning on taking a leave of absence from my work and spending a year abroad.
This weekend Jordan and I had a terrific party celebrating our birthdays. We rented a karaoke machine and turned Duncan’s living room into what amounted to a cleaner, plusher, more comfortable asian-style karaoke room. Some of my best friends were there (and many were sadly missing!) and I had an ear-to-ear grin on my face all night and the morning after, glowing from the joy I’d felt that evening. I love my life in Vancouver and Victoria, but there’s always been an itch to set out on my own. My wonderful friends and family will always be here. I’ve seen good friends leave and return and it’s made me realise that while things can change, most things don’t change at all when you’re away.
I don’t hold my regrets well. I tend to think heavily about things I should have done or could have done. This is something I know I’ll regret not doing, before my life takes on those responsibilities that tie you to one place. I want to learn about myself, about what I’m like on my own, I want to meet people I wouldn’t meet otherwise (and, as anyone who has traveled knows, meet those people that live down your street back home too), I want to challenge my expectations of myself and I want to see new places that challenge my view of the world. I want to take photographs and write and read 100 books and yeah, just take a break from the computer and desk for a while too.
So I might be celebrating my 30th birthday abroad, without my safety net of friends and family and karaoke machines with bitchin’ set lists. It’s pretty scary but it’s really exhilarating too. The world just keeps getting smaller though and I’m ready to explore.
Photos by Anja Verdugo
Happy birthday! This is awfully exciting news! Any ideas on where you want to travel? You should stop by Copenhagen! Since it’s, you know, totally centrally located and all.
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Woooaaah! Exciting! Also happy belated birthday.
Had mine too, and am gearing up for a radical change this year! Go get ‘em!
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rachel anastasia Reply:
March 12th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
Oh! I am curious about your radical changes! Here’s to getting older and getting radical
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