Turning 30: 30 Things Every Woman Should Have And Should Know

I'm constantly inspired by the things around me, but every now and then I see, hear or read something that moves me and I must share it with my friends.

So was the case when I recently read Turning 30: 30 Things Every Woman Should Have And Should Know. The article was originally published in Glamour Magazine in 1997, when I was barely a teenager and nowhere near 30. Time sure does fly by!

Pamela Redmond was the author, but because it became so popular and was passed on so much that it almost lost its origins. Women started speculating that it was written by Maya Angelou or Hillary Clinton.

This year the article was published as a book of essays that features personal accounts by Hillary Clinton, Maya Angelou and other notable ladies that take on the different topics.

BTW: This book makes a great gift for any gal pal who is turning 30!


The Original List: 

By 30, you should have:

1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come.
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.
4. A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying.
5. A youth you’re content to move beyond.
6. A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.
7. The realization that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money set aside to help fund it.
8. An e-mail address, a voice mailbox and a bank account—all of which nobody has access to but you.
9. A resume that is not even the slightest bit padded.
10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.
11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.
12. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.
13. The belief that you deserve it.
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

By 30, you should know:

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.
2. How you feel about having kids.
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.
4. When to try harder and when to walk away.
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.
6. The names of: the secretary of state, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.
7. How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.
8. How to take control of your own birthday.
9. That you can’t change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.
11. What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love.
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.
13. Who you can trust, who you can’t and why you shouldn’t take it personally.
14. Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.
15. Why they say life begins at 30.

And while the original list is great, I felt it needed a little makeover for the 30 year old women of the 21st century, so here's my take on it (I kept all the good advice that transcends time and age. I just updated a few which are in bold pink text.)

GTG's List:

By 30, you should have:

1. A small, but tight knit of friends, who are more like family.
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.
4. A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying.
5. A youth you’re content to move beyond.
6. A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.
7. The realization that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money set aside to help fund it.
8. Take care of yourself and all your personal business: Have a health insurance policy, a life insurance policy and a will.
9. In this economy your resume needs to grab attention and while I'm not encouraging that you pad it, I am saying make it the best you can, so you can get the job of your dreams.
10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.
11. You should definitely own a black lace bra with the matching panties. Just make sure you know how to change the oil in your car and how to measure the air in your tires.
12. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.
13. The belief that you deserve it.
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

By 30, you should know:

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.
2. How you feel about having kids.
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.
4. When to try harder and when to walk away.
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.
6. The names of: the secretary of state, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.
7. How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.
8. How to take control of your own birthday.
9. That you can’t change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.
11. What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love.
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.
13. Who you can trust, who you can’t and why you shouldn’t take it personally.
14. Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.
15. Why they say life begins at 30.

I also would like to point out that the reason I'm sharing this on my blog is because it struck a chord with me. It's simply a good read and by no means is this a mandatory list. So again I hope you enjoy it and share it with all your girlfriends.

I'd like to include one more "piece of advice" and it's something I do my best to live by every day of my life which is to live life with no regrets.

Think of everything that happens in your life as a lesson. Remember it's all the things that happen to us in or the things we choose to bring into our lives that mold us into the people we are.

So don't waste your time feeling regret!

xo
GTG

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number

Today marks the 28th year of my existence. And while I never look forward to growing old, I do love birthdays! I'm thankful for getting to share another birthday with those closest to me. I'm even more thankful for those who love me and go out of their ways to make me feel extra special on my day. Thank you so much! You know exactly who you are.

Birthdays are much like life--they come with pros and cons. The older I get the more I'm embracing the pros and not the cons.

One of the things I enjoy to do for myself on my birthday, besides buying a new fabulous accessory is analyzing my successes, my failures, my mistakes and my gains in the past year.

I'm in a better place on this birthday than I was on my last one. And today I want to share a few of the things that keep me positive, keep me strong, but above all keep me going. Think of it as a birthday gift to you.

Live life with NO regrets. Even if things don't go the way you planned them know that at some point you did exactly what you wanted. If you need to live your life with regrets then regret the things you didn't do. Everything else is a lesson.

Always follow your heart. Follow your mind. Follow your instincts. They will never steer you wrong.

It's ok to no longer want the very same things you obsessed with for years. In my case it was having a journalistic career. For a very long time I was beyond bitter and depressed that I wasn't where I wanted to be, but then I realized life is too short to be upset over things like a job.

So what did I do? I focused on my passions: writing and fashion. And now I'm Your Go to Gal. This blog is honestly one of the best things that I have ever done. And I want to thank all of you who are constantly supporting and rooting me on!

Never feel sorry for yourself.

If you fall you get your ass up again and fight harder.

Always help those who are in need.

A child brings inexplicable joy to a family. Thank you Jinny for giving me my gorgeous baby nephew. Our lives are now complete because of him.

Smile. It helps you live longer.

Carry yourself with confidence at all times.

Until my next birthday!

One year wiser,

Your G2G

Aging Gracefully

"Aging is the process of growing old or maturing. Humans reach their peak in growth and development when they are in their mid 20s. After this point, the body gradually becomes less functional over time," (http://www.wellness.com/reference/conditions/aging/) According to this article, it's all downhill from this point forth, but I can't help feeling reluctant.

In today's society, there are even double-standards for aging when it comes to men and women. Men get older and they're  more attractive, sexier and smarter. Women age, and we get called cougars or hags, depending on how we look (not for what we've accomplished.) I've spent a lot of time and fight insisting that equality between the sexes can be achieved, and I haven't quit, but I've stopped getting worked up about it. I sure as heck, don't want to get so worked up that I'll end up suffering a heart attack because my body is now working less efficient than before (that was a joke.) And, while the above article, holds truth I refuse to let it be a truth in my own personal life.

So here's what's happened in the past year. I've surrounded myself around older people, whose life stories I've come to greatly enjoy. And not one of them has life figured out, and they're still on these amazing rides in this rollercoaster, we call life.  And at some point, I sadly realized that I have spent the last six years of my life obsessing over school, jobs, status and money. I have not one thing, that I thought I would have at this age.

After reality's hard slap in the face, I decided to stop dwelling about not having the ideal life that I had pictured for myself when I was 16. I'm such a different person today, than I was when I was 16, so why on Earth was I still obsessing over this thought, but it was there and it haunted me persistently and kept me from  being happy. The day came when I had to loosen my grip on the idea of idealism and let it go completely. Only then, it's when I started living life again and being happy. And just for anyone's information, the minute you have life all figured out, you're  pretty much done living.

So thanks to my "elders," and  my "sudden" realizations, my life is mine again, not my former's self. As much as I'd want to obsess over wanting to kick myself in the ass for not having realized this sooner, if I started obsessing over that too, then it would just simply signify that I didn't learn much in the first place.

So ladies and gent, in honor of my upcoming birth's anniversary, I'm blogging about age and life :)

So my birthday  is nearing itself for the 27th time, and I just found my first gray hair, and I might have even begun to wrinkle; I'm a little overweight for my own standards, I don't dress up all the time anymore, and sometimes I can care less about how my hair looks, or if my make-up is just right ...What I'm getting to is that I am less than perfect, yet I have never felt so confident in my entire life. I'm comfortable in my own skin, and that's not only a wonderful feeling, it's also sexy and empowering. The aforementioned things, along with wisdom, experience and compassion (all of which come with age) is what aging gracefully is all about. Forget the liposuction, the botox and the implants as implemented by today's societal standards; however, on that same token, if those things make you feel better then by all means go right ahead and do them, but do them for you, in order to make yourself better, and not because your significant other or friends tell you to do it. In the end, it's your life, so just do you.

With every passing year, I feel time ticks faster and faster and I'm learning to not take things for granted, to be less of a brat and to enjoy the simplest of things, like breathing or enjoying the scenery, when I'm stuck in traffic for an hour. I've also learned that beauty stems from the inside and comes through on the outside, and that too has come from getting older and so at this very moment, with no make-up on and my hair in a crazy-looking bun, I can't feel anymore beautiful.

Sidenote: I literally thought I'd die the day I found my first gray hair and now that I'm approaching 30, well the old me would have called it quits, and if you personally know me, you know I'm vain; however, the new me is more than just fine with these things, and this is the best birthday gift I have given myself.

My blog is about everything in life, and I want to know what makes you feel beautiful and graceful with age?

I want to leave you with one thought: "Embrace age, for if you won't, then who will "... and remember the best tasting wines are the aged ones ;)

xoxo
your GTG

"The years teach much which the days never knew"

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