Thoughts: Entering the Third Decade

I never thought I’d make it this far.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin.

When I started writing this post, I thought to keep it simple and just list things I'm happy about, grateful for, and want to improve as I go into my 3rd decade of mortal existence. Since I drafted that post and now, the actual date, many things have happened:

• I got accepted into a Masters programme. 
• I finished my novel draft and sent it for beta reading (FINALLY)
• I decided to take a break from the day job.
• The Ronins are making plans. 
• I dove into the RPG rabbit hole and met the most amazing bunch of people. 

That being said, I will never be grateful enough for all the good things that have happened, especially over the last few months and years. To the people around me (even the ones I probably see too much of), thank you for sticking around =).

Last year, a friend asked if I was afraid of turning 30 this year.

I said, “I’m not afraid of turning 30, I’m more afraid of looking back and forward and realizing that I’ve been wasting my life, not working towards a purpose I resonated with.”

There are many things to be grateful for, to be happy about, to improve, and to look forward to. While I don’t really feel much of a change, I thought this’ll be a great avenue to take stock and appreciate the good, the bad, and the future.  

Happiness and Gratitude

As I turn 30, I would say that I’m incredibly grateful for the following (to spare all of you from exposition):

• A place to live, hot showers, general safety, and am not always worried about my next meal
• The Tiger =)
• Them adventure capitalists from The Shiny Quarters and the Bottle Shop in the city of Neth
• Great friends and family
• The Rolling Ronins and the VK
• Enough energy to get through the creative projects I want to do
• Minimalism
• Pretty okay level of Faith
• My bibliography - short and long-form stories, collections, podcasts, games, what-have-yous

Improvements

At the same time, I only hope to go on and try to improve myself on these areas as well:

• To accept myself that much more
• Self-confidence and self-compassion
• Be less panicked in the face of chaos
• Be less reactive in the face of conflict
• Plan better schedules

What’s Up Ahead

While I take a break this coming quarter, I’m looking forward to:

• Finally pitching the first novel of my first trilogy
• Putting the first season of my fictional podcast to production
• Setting up more avenues to share local stories - fictional or experiences with self-publishing
• Giving my 110% to all the story-related events in this last quarter of the year (at least)
• Talking to as many of you as I can

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I’ve never really been fully confident in myself - I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s incredibly difficult for me to compartmentalize and organize. However, another good friend gave me a good piece of advice:

"In a time where you have no idea who "yourself" is, try reframing it to think about who you want to be."

We are a combination of our own stories and doings, after all. 

I have so much more to say, and so many more people to thank. But to be incredibly concise, I’m grateful that with the support of my friends and family, I do feel improved, at least in this aspect.

So now that I’m entering the third decade, here’s to another decade of living, learning, loving, and pretty much, new adventures!