Ending My 28th Year: Success, Mistakes, & Subtle Findings.
In a couple of Saturdays, I will be 29.
Smeh.
It's not 30, so it's not a huge deal. It's similar to turning 19. You're barely an adult, but not quite adult-enough for most things.
This weekend, I will be hiking a Birthday 14er with a friend, and next weekend my boyfriend of 3+ years will be coming to Colorado to visit. My plan is to convince him to move here, or just be late to the airport for his flight home.
My 28th year has been a year for the books. It's important to list your successes, so here I go for a moment:
I moved from Texas to Colorado.
I finished my Yoga Teacher Certification.
I quit my job of 5 years.
I started a new job - and I love it (social media + yoga = happy Tiffiny).
I traveled to Bali.
I got "Bali Belly."
I got to meet, hang out with, and enjoy the company of Tara Stiles (the reason I am a yoga teacher).
I traveled to Texas. 5x.
I travled to Utah.
I traveled up a few mountains. 9 14ers, who knows how many non-14ers. (See Flatlander to Mountaineer).
It's also important to be aware of your missteps, but not hold them against yourself. Just remember the lessons you learned. So:
I started listing all my mistakes, but each time I listed a backpedal, I had an anecdote about what I had learned. So, the mistakes don't even matter anymore. Right now matters, and being able to match a learn to a screw-up = don't worry about the screw up. Just keep it on the shelf in case you're in a similar situation again, and need to remember what you learned.
A list of subtle findings I have discovered this year:
Keep moving forward.
Always say yes to travel. Always.
Be kind to people.
Tip well (always at least $2, unless 20% is more).
Keep a gallon of water in your trunk. If I-70 shuts down, and it will, you'll get thirsty.
Drink water, all the time. Living at 5k feet, you have to.
Don't try to get a job as a newly certified yoga teacher in Boulder, CO - just don't even try. They want the best of the best.
Be straight with people. Even when you're working at the Apple Store and they think a virus is on their Mac, but really it's just adware from the illicit website they visited.
Be straight with people, even outside of the Apple Store.
People are selfish, don't worry about them & don't take it personally. Just make sure you're the one who IS saying thank you.
In Bali, there are no traffic laws.
In Bali, the monkeys in Ubud WILL eye your GoPro.
In Bali, being the first customer of the day in the market = good luck for you and the patron.
In Bali, the art of devotion is a way of life, and it is beautiful.
In Bali, don't drink the water. Two exits if you do: both ends.
Talk to the panhandlers in Boulder - not all of them are drunks. They have stories.
Eat meat if you want to. Even in Boulder.
Don't eat seafood in Boulder.
Do eat seafood in Tokyo: during your layover, head toward Shinjuku Station & make a dash for SUSHI! (and then hurry back to catch your 10 hour flight home).
Don't objectify money. If you don't need it don't buy it. If you want quality, buy it. Don't do or not do something because of the price of it. Find freedom from money by not giving a shit about it. Seriously.
Meditate.
Give more than you can, get, have, or want to. It comes back to you...in the most magical and unexplainable ways.
Manifest what you want in your life. Your thoughts create your world.
Be open...to everything.
I am really proud of myself this year. I'm still not as forward-moving as I want to be, but I will get there. I feel like I have been happy 95% of the year, except when I'm PMSing, but I am self-aware and have stopped thinking there is something wrong with me every month.
It doesn't have to take a birthday to cause one to reflect. Try and find time every day to do it. You begin to see how incredibly beautiful life is and it continues to be so.
- Thoughts During My Final 9 Days as a 28-year-old.
Smeh.
It's not 30, so it's not a huge deal. It's similar to turning 19. You're barely an adult, but not quite adult-enough for most things.
This weekend, I will be hiking a Birthday 14er with a friend, and next weekend my boyfriend of 3+ years will be coming to Colorado to visit. My plan is to convince him to move here, or just be late to the airport for his flight home.
My 28th year has been a year for the books. It's important to list your successes, so here I go for a moment:
I moved from Texas to Colorado.
I finished my Yoga Teacher Certification.
I quit my job of 5 years.
I started a new job - and I love it (social media + yoga = happy Tiffiny).
I traveled to Bali.
I got "Bali Belly."
I got to meet, hang out with, and enjoy the company of Tara Stiles (the reason I am a yoga teacher).
I traveled to Texas. 5x.
I travled to Utah.
I traveled up a few mountains. 9 14ers, who knows how many non-14ers. (See Flatlander to Mountaineer).
It's also important to be aware of your missteps, but not hold them against yourself. Just remember the lessons you learned. So:
I started listing all my mistakes, but each time I listed a backpedal, I had an anecdote about what I had learned. So, the mistakes don't even matter anymore. Right now matters, and being able to match a learn to a screw-up = don't worry about the screw up. Just keep it on the shelf in case you're in a similar situation again, and need to remember what you learned.
A list of subtle findings I have discovered this year:
Keep moving forward.
Always say yes to travel. Always.
Be kind to people.
Tip well (always at least $2, unless 20% is more).
Keep a gallon of water in your trunk. If I-70 shuts down, and it will, you'll get thirsty.
Drink water, all the time. Living at 5k feet, you have to.
Don't try to get a job as a newly certified yoga teacher in Boulder, CO - just don't even try. They want the best of the best.
Be straight with people. Even when you're working at the Apple Store and they think a virus is on their Mac, but really it's just adware from the illicit website they visited.
Be straight with people, even outside of the Apple Store.
People are selfish, don't worry about them & don't take it personally. Just make sure you're the one who IS saying thank you.
In Bali, there are no traffic laws.
In Bali, the monkeys in Ubud WILL eye your GoPro.
In Bali, being the first customer of the day in the market = good luck for you and the patron.
In Bali, the art of devotion is a way of life, and it is beautiful.
In Bali, don't drink the water. Two exits if you do: both ends.
Talk to the panhandlers in Boulder - not all of them are drunks. They have stories.
Eat meat if you want to. Even in Boulder.
Don't eat seafood in Boulder.
Do eat seafood in Tokyo: during your layover, head toward Shinjuku Station & make a dash for SUSHI! (and then hurry back to catch your 10 hour flight home).
Don't objectify money. If you don't need it don't buy it. If you want quality, buy it. Don't do or not do something because of the price of it. Find freedom from money by not giving a shit about it. Seriously.
Meditate.
Give more than you can, get, have, or want to. It comes back to you...in the most magical and unexplainable ways.
Manifest what you want in your life. Your thoughts create your world.
Be open...to everything.
I am really proud of myself this year. I'm still not as forward-moving as I want to be, but I will get there. I feel like I have been happy 95% of the year, except when I'm PMSing, but I am self-aware and have stopped thinking there is something wrong with me every month.
It doesn't have to take a birthday to cause one to reflect. Try and find time every day to do it. You begin to see how incredibly beautiful life is and it continues to be so.
- Thoughts During My Final 9 Days as a 28-year-old.