Well, it’s here!  I’m 30-years-old!  Today. 30. 30-years-old.  Today is my birthday. My 30th birthday. A huge milestone.  A time to reflect on the last 30 years and plan for the next 10, 20, 30 — and beyond.

Inspired by my last post, where I captured some of the greater highlights of my 20s, I feel it necessary to project what I’d like to set out to achieve in my 30s.  There have certainly been some things that I’ve been mulling over for quite awhile and I think it’s about time that I officially commit myself to accomplishing them now that I’m a bona fide adult.  Here it goes:

1. Finish a marathon in under 4hrs
2. Complete a triathlon
3. Travel to Italy, France, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland
4. Get certified to teach yoga
5. Learn to ski/snowboard
6. Take piano lessons
7. Finish my t-shirt quilt [a long-term project I've been postponing forever]
8. Bolster my personal savings [actual details reserved for Katie and her financial adviser]

I think that’s about it for now.  I intend to revisit this post and add to the list when other long-term goals present themselves, but I wanted to get these first few up and publicly posted so as to hold myself accountable.

Here we go!  Wish me good luck!  Today is day #1 for the next 10yrs [well, assuming the world doesn't end in 2012].

***Disclaimer: please note that none of the aforementioned goals include having babies, securing a man/getting married, or obtaining a mortgage.  Not to say that these things are completely off the table.  I just don’t feel that I should be working hard to cross those things off of a goal-oriented list when, to me, whether they happen or not is entirely up to fate and in the chance that they don’t happen, I don’t want to feel disappointed.***

This day has finally come.

Tonight marks my last night as a twenty-something and in many ways, I find it strangely satisfying.  After attending yoga earlier today and mentioning to Elizabeth that my 30th birthday is tomorrow, she remarked “you’ve had a really good decade, Katie”.  It occurred to me then that she was right; what a great perspective to have on the eve of the next decade of my life.  Of course this totally warrants a blog post, where I felt it only fitting to list the highlights of the last decade.  Indulge me for a moment:

Highlights of my 20s:

• Graduating from college in 4yrs
• Moving to San Francisco [and subsequently setting up my adult life here]
• Gaining financial freedom [paying off my car, student loans and credit card, setting up my 401K, etc]
• Completing 5 marathons and 8 half marathons [9 after tomorrow’s race]
• Discovering a love for Bikram yoga
• Participating in the 10th annual AIDS LifeCycle Ride [535mi on my bike in 7 days]
• Embarking on several international trips [UK, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Mexico]
• Working for a start-up company, a company relatively fresh out of start-up mode, and a well-established Fortune 500 company
• Embracing my love for music [read: more concerts than I can count, music festivals Coachella, Ultra, Outside Lands, Treasure Island, Electric Zoo]
• Falling in love, being okay with being vulnerable, and mending a broken heart
• Making new friends, reconnecting with old ones, and supporting friends progress through new chapters of their lives [think: marriage, children, relocating across the country or to another country, going back to school, going through a significant break-up, starting new careers, etc]

I’m sure there are some other highlights that I might be by-passing, but these are the ones that stand out as most prominent for me tonight.  I look at this list and my heart swells with pride, for as great as my 20s were, I know that my 30s will have many more great things in store.  Thanks for the memories, 20s. You were fabulous.