XXX

I turn thirty today and for the record, I am happy being older.

 

I'd rather be at this age and know the things I know now than be younger and know way less. And it's not even things of wisdom or enlightenment because I'd be the first to admit that I have neither. Just knowing things about myself. I am glad that at thirty, I know myself a little better.

 

It's not profound, but I find it important. Too often people don't bother really knowing who they are, what they believe in, what they value. Or what makes them happy, sad, calm, or angry. It seems trivial - knowing yourself. But I think without it, you will understand very little why you act and react the way that you do. Hopefully, with this understanding comes the ability to correct one's self, to arrive at sound decisions. To be able to live purposefully.

 

And because that suspiciously sounded like a cheesy self-help load of crap, let me just pull out an example from pop culture (which everyone knows is sooo much more credible). Remember in the first Matrix (the only one worth watching) when Neo first met the Oracle, she shows him the Latin phrase "Temet Nosce", which means "know thyself". She tells him that when you know yourself, "you just know it, through and through."

 

So I wrote mine down on paper - a sort of "this is who you were" piece. As if I were introducing myself to a future me that does not exist yet. Nothing poetic or structured, just random facts. Some take long, thoughtful paragraphs, others just short, lame phrases like, "Your humor is not mainstream". I'm not sure what I'm going to do with that particular personal tidbit five or ten years from now, but I'm sure it's worth a few laughs in the future. Yes, that sound like MY kind of humor. 

I just wanted to share one of the most important things I will add on that list this year. I realized that gratitude is a great start towards happiness. With that, I would like to thank all my family and friends who greeted me a happy birthday with their presence, calls, emails, pm's, wall posts, texts. Please know that your good wishes are sincerely appreciated.