For the past few birthdays, I have been transitioning into that state of being where suddenly -- even though it really happens slowly and surely , bu you know how years can seem sudden once you actually stop and take a look - where suddenly, one's birthday becomes less about "growing up, " and more about growing forward. Less about monumental changes and milestones like becoming a "teenager," getting braces, or graduating high school, and more about recognizing both the big and the little things that have come to pass in the last year which led you to where you are now.
It used to be that growing a year older meant that I was losing baby teeth, or entering a new grade in school, or legally permitted to consume alcohol, or going off to college. Even turning 23, it meant that I had graduated college, and was moving across the country to enter graduate school.
This year, as I ebb ever nearer and nearer to accomplishing a full quarter of my life, I have weathered and grown from many changes. The difference is, these are changes presented to be by life, rather than guided my way by our cultural age-appropriate milestones. I have fallen in love, and begun a partnered journey that feels so new to me, and yet so familiar. I have stumbled upon a spanking community that is more perfect than anything I could ever have imagined, and I have opened the door to "the real world" after 20 years of being in classes year-round, finding challegens and opportunities that I never even knew existed. Oh, and I got a smart-phone. About time, right? :D
I know there will still be many age-related changes coming my way -- next year I will be able to rent a car without the additional "you are still in the:
Statistically-proven-to-drive-like-you-just-got-your-license-yesterday age-bracket" insurance-related fee. In many more years I may find myself smack in the middle of a mid-life crisis.
But this year, it is nice to realize that I am in charge of making my own changes now.
So far, I think I've been doing pretty darn good :D
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Any grammatical errors in the above text are the responsibility of my iPhone -- even though I didn't use it to write this post... hehe :-)