It’s my 30th Birthday today… And I wanted to share a few memories and a few thoughts on turning “the Big 3-0.”

Back in the Day

and…Yes, I will share a few interesting fashion choices of mini PixiJasmine but heck, they were fun to look at!

As a little kid, I remember my parents planning birthday parties at the local Pizza Hut or Mc Donalds. It was easy since it was a package deal: The cake, the food, the entertainment and games. My parents sent out invitations and kids came with gifts and their parents and it was just a huge family event. When I got a bit older, I was able to have house parties and invite those I wanted to. When I think about birthdays growing up, I appreciate the amount of time and effort that my parents put into making them special..whether it was ordering a special cake to just opening presents with me after my balett practice.

Opening gifts with my mom after Balett…

My Most Memorable Birthday

There are so many memorable birthdays, both good and bad but the most recent memorable birthday was my 28th when my boyfriend had to attend a conference in Las Vegas and I decided to follow him there. I spent a full week, on my own during the day and with him in the evenings. It was during this trip that I was able to learn more about myself. Las Vegas has always and will always have a special place in my heart.

Birthday Blues

Turning 30 makes me think about how much I have grown and all the things I have gone through that many people don’t know about nor seem to care much about. When people talk about Birthday Blues, many talk about being a year older.

Eating Cake with the family after we moved away to Israel and we didnt know anyone…

But for me… When I moved to Sweden the birthdays went uncelebrated and celebrations (Christmas, New Years, etc etc) became quite lonely. I believe that I do correlate my birthday to when I moved to Sweden as it wasn’t a fantastic birthday… nor any birthdays after that. I wasn’t ever able to find a group of people who would want to throw surprise birthdays nor just celebrate with me so birthdays just kind of come and gone.

I guess it has a lot to do with expectations too. I’ve always dreamt of a surprise birthday party, presents, people showing up to sing Happy Birthday and a fantastic cake. I go above and beyond for others and expect mutual respect back but after so many years of not getting it… I have come to the conclusion that most people just happen to have more important things than celebrating me. I learnt to accept that my birthday is just another day with the other 364 days in a year and that it would just have to be up to me to let people know my expectations. And for me, if they can’t come up with it on their own, then maybe I shouldnt care either.

10 Things it Took me 30 Years to…

1. …Invest in a good pillow. Neck pain & no sleep is not worth it.
2. …Stop assuming that people will be there for me as I have been for them. Ok. Almost stop assuming. It takes time to learn this one!
3. …Knowledge is always a good idea.
4. …Embrace Failure. As a perfectionist, this one was one of the harder ones but by realizing that failure is just another word for ‘try again,’ failure is not all that hard to be ok with!
5. …Realize that apologizing is better than excuses. We are all human and by apologizing, it is easier to move on and better understand others and learn from mistakes.
6. …Forgive in my own time. Everyone needs time to accept and move on.
7. …Find that crying is just as therapeutic as laughing. When you can’t express anger or disappointment, crying is a calming outlet and is OK!
8. …Realize that SPF is a MUST. The one and only thing that would keep me looking fresh no matter what age!
9. …Find that what you have dreamt of will not always come true. Instead of focusing on what has not been realized, I need to refocus on something that is more attainable.
10. …Be myself. Someday I will find the right people who would love me for it.

Happy Birthday to ME.