Last month I went pretty hard spoiling myself for my birthday. I am trying to not buy so much stationery since I already have… so, so much… but I felt that I deserved a big present to myself as I am celebrating the big milestone of turning… ugh… thirty.
I know 30 sounds old. To me, it sounds old too. And I’ll admit there are times where I feel “maybe I should grow up a little more…” but I’ve accomplished a lot in my 30 years! Even in the last 10 years, I did so much that I’m proud of. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge what I’m most proud of from my 20s, mostly as a reminder to myself:
- I went to college and graduated!
- I moved to Chicago all by myself, and got a great job that I worked at for 3 years!
- I found the opportunity to get a new job, and have been here for almost a year and am learning so much every day!
- I traveled the United States – I’ve been to 29 states!
- I traveled the world – I’ve gone over to Europe and to Japan multiple times!
- I learned Japanese! (How well I learned it is a different story, lol)
- I pursued illustration, and even got to work with famous people!
- Most importantly, I made friends and had fun!
When I think about how much I did in my 20s, turning 30 no longer feels ‘sad’ or ‘pathetic’ – I’ll admit I subscribe to the illogical notion that looking young and beautiful is everything to a girl and a new birthday reminds me that one day I will no longer look young. It scares me a little! Thankfully for now, I still look young (most people think I’m still in college) – I call this little fountain of youth “having no life” lol… seriously, I don’t party/drink/smoke/sunbathe and it’s been good to my appearance so far.
My mom wrote me a very sweet message in her birthday card, and this is the kind of positive framing I’d like to do more in my 30s 🙂 Naturally, she also signed it from her cat.
But you might be able to imagine with my initial mindset of “my youth is leaving meeeeee!!” that I do my best to distract myself and make my birthday a positive experience. Thus, self-spoilings! I’ve done a bunch of haul/unboxing videos lately. If you’d like to see everything I got for myself, check them out below!
Unboxing from a bunch of stationery stores: Cute Things From Japan, Tokyo Sticker Store, and Sweet Supplies Store
Review of Stickii Club Pop Pack and a stationery haul from Pokemon Center (in Japan!)
An unboxing of my large order from Rainbowholic Shop. I always have a great experience whenever I order anything from Kaila! I also did a Rainbowholic Patreon review a while back, check it out!
Now that I’m officially an Old Person On The Internet, I think more than ever my personal mantra of pursuing what makes me happy is as important as ever. Will teenagers on the internet think I’m a pathetic adult for not having a husband and kids at this time in my life and still enjoying anime and playing with stationery. …Maybe? Do I care? I can’t really say that I do. I am happy, strong, and grateful. To me, right now, that is more important than settling down.
So here’s to thirty!
