domingo, 16 de setembro de 2012

My Turning 30 project


When I was a little girl I remember asking my grandmother how old she was, but she couldn’t remember. I couldn’t understand how someone could forget her own age until this year when I thought I was about to turn the big 3.0 and then learned I’m actually turning 29.
 Yes, my brain is working as well as my grandma’s in 1992, but the exciting news is that I just got an extra year in my life. At least that’s how it feels in a very weird way, so I thought this “extra” year should be celebrated.
About 10 years ago I got a notebook where I wrote 100 things I want to do before I die and a few weeks ago I took it from the closet, dusted it off and realized that I already accomplished 82% of my list. They weren’t hard things to accomplish but when I wrote them down they were meaningful and special, and I truly felt my life wouldn’t be complete without those things in my life
I sat down and thought that maybe I should make a list of things I want to do before I turn 30. But after many days everything I thought of seemed to shallow to spend my time. It had to be meaningful. It had to be special.
Turning 30 for some women is a tearful process that marks the end of and youth and beauty. I prefer to believe that turning 30 is the best Era of someone’s life. Nowadays, living up to 100 years old isn’t so rare. If I will live for a century, being thirty is being too young to cry or lie about my age. Being thirty will be like being a baby with 30 years of experience. With that knowledge, I feel like turning 29 should be a chance for a deep change in my heart so I can start this new Era happier and wiser.
Great, I knew what I needed, yet I had no idea where to start.
I would take 100 years to change everything I want to in order to become a happier and wiser person, so where do I begin? I remember reading books, watching movies and hearing stories of different people’s life changing experiences and most of them included lonely trips to an exotic country (Eat, Pray and Love) or a life threatening experience (Stephanie Nielson).
I’m too glued to the bones with my two little munchkins to go on a lonely trip right now and having a life threatening experience is out of the question. My husband came home with some fortune cookies and I’m not going to lie I was hoping for a hint of what to do. The fortune said “Sometimes traveling to a new place leads to great transformation”.
Seriously? Even you, fortune cookie? I just said traveling is out of the question.
So I got my answer in a very special way. On this last September 11th, I browsed some YouTube videos of that horrific event, as I do every year. I never want to forget that day because it always reminds me how fragile life is and that I have to make sure I treat everyone with respect, including myself.
I found a video named “9/11 calls” and it caused an impact on me bigger than I imagined and also gave me guidance of what to do on my Turning 30 project.
I felt inspired to make sure people I love really know I love them; I want to tell them repeatedly they are important in my life.
I want to be a stress free person. I don’t want to waste my life being frustrated.
I want to be in shape. I always had the goal to be in shape because I wanted to look cute, I’m not gonna lie. But after learning about a fireman in the video that was able to run over 70 floors to save people trapped in the towers my goal changed. I want to be in shape because I want to live longer.
There are so many other things from those stories that inspired me
During this year in my life my goal is to change my habits, improve the good ones and exterminate the bad ones. I will have a whole year to do that.
Thirty will be my new beginning, a premiere of a new and improved version of me.
I feel like that in my childhood I found my passions, I created and dreamed, I played and laughed and life was a playground
 In my teens years I tried, I feel in love, I broke my heart, I was a metamorphose creature getting to know myself while changing in every minute, and I visualized my life and what I wanted to become.
My twenties was a time for precise decisions. Any mistake had the power to change my life’s course. Some decisions were bad, some decisions were good. I got a degree, got an amazing boyfriends, got engaged, got married, got pregnant, got the greatest children.
What am I going to do when I turn 30?
Some women cry. Some women think it’s the end of their lives. When I was in my teens I thought that same way too. But after 28 years of experience I feel like I finally have some knowledge to live life to the fullest, wisely. I feel like I finally have the tools to build the best life for myself. Since I don’t know at all I have one more year to change what I think I can change. I won’t be perfect no matter how much I try. But I want to be better.
I decided to share my journey during this whole year because lately I haven’t been able to finish anything, and I believe that will make me accountable.
So here are 30 things I will do before I turn 30
1.       I want to show love and appreciation: Easier said than done. I really want to make sure people around me understand by my words and actions that they are important to me
2.       I want to forgive and be forgiven:  I don’t want ANY heartache in my heart. If I hurt someone I want to fix it, if I was hurt I want to make sure there’s no bad feeling left. I want my heart at ease
3.       I want to stop complaining: Can I do that?
4.       I want take 30 minutes every day for meditating: Something my ADD self will have to learn
5.       I want to be a stress free person: I can do it! I can do it!
6.       I want to unbury my talents (part 1) : I play the piano since I was 4 and I’ve been writing and composing since I was 6. My goal is to write and compose 12 songs and send them to music producers. I don’t care if they don’t like them, I’m just telling myself “WHY NOT”
7.       I want to unbury my talents (part 2) : I recently found out I can paint. My goal is to make 12 paintings (one a month) and an exposition of my work on my 30th Birthday month
8.       I want to unbury my talents (part 3) : I want to resurrect my French.
9.       I want to develop new talents (sewing): I always wanted to learn how to sew, since I was little, my husband gave me a sewing machine last Christmas and my goal is to complete 3 sewing projects
10.   I want to develop new talents (cooking): I’m tired of being a foodie that eats exotic food but doesn’t know how to prepare them. My goal is to learn 12 new recipes and they can’t be Brazilian or American. It has to be extra special.
11.   I want to develop new talents (photography): I want to participate of a photography competition
12.   I want to spend devoted time with my husband: Only the 2 of us
13.   I want to spend devoted time with my daughter: Only the 2 of us
14.   I want to spend devoted time with my son: Only the 2 of us
15.   I want to try to get pregnant with my 3th child: Well, I can only commit to try to conceive it, God will do the rest
16.   I want my house to be like a temple: I want my house to be like a retreat. Clean, peaceful, organized. We got a bigger house and I’ve been doing well so far, I just have to be consistent.
17.   I want to really love what I see in the mirror: it’s not about losing weight and having a plastic surgery, I want to work on my self-steam, I want to be confident and happy to be who I am
18.   I want to have a personal recharging trip
19.   I want to make new friends: We just moved to a new city I need some new friends
20.   I want to create family traditions
21.   I want to learn to love something I hate: this list is long, I just one to pick one thing
22.   Go camping: I’m not a camping person.
23.   Speak more Spanish: I usually run away for my opportunity to practice
24.   I want to run a 5k
25.   I want to disconnect to connect: I want to minimize TV, iPhone and computers in my life
26.   I want to do something good to someone: And it has to be something special
27.   Do a makeover of my laundry room, my closet and my bathrooms; they are in desperate need of some interior design
28.   I want to read a book every month: I was doing so good before my second child was born
29.   I want to surprise someone: And it has to be big
30.   I want my 30th birthday to be the best I ever had
By the way I just opened another fortune cookie and it says: “Every person is the architect of his or hers own fortune”.  I like this one better.
Let the journey begin

4 comentários:

  1. You're so cute! I've always loved how open you are with your thoughts and feelings. I wish you wouldn't have moved! But, I'm so glad you love your new home. I miss your mom. I wish I could write her a big long email in English and know that she would understand and feel what I was writing to her. You run from Spanish like I run from Portuguese! I wish I could read more books too, I love to read. My mom just says there is a time and season for all the things that I want to do and learn. I guess what she's saying is now is not the time, because I don't have any! I didn't like that answer too much! Anyway, this is way too long of a comment, but I just admire you(always have actually) and I just wanted you to know that I think you're beautiful!

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  2. Ju vc uma mulher sabia . so isso resume vc.

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  3. Ju, Parabéns!!! Muitas felicidades e que todas essas suas novas metas sejam alcançadas e que vc tenha experiências grandiosas. Seja feliz!!!

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  4. Obrigada meninas pelo apoio
    Karen, what the heck? You avoid speaking portuguese? But you speak so well. Call me and we can chitchat in portuguese.

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