On The Thought Of Becoming Twenty-Eight

I'll be 28 next Friday.

I had somehow thought I would be a little more accomplished by this age seeing as how I used to think that "almost 30" was so old. I thought I would have a degree, a wife, a home in the suburbs, and 2.5 kids. I thought I would have a moderately successful movie career.

Pipe dreams, all of them.

I made a semi-evaluation [scroll to bottom] almost 2 years ago. I think that where I am now in my life is a lot better than I thought it would be, especially since there seems to have been a shift in my thinking. It seems that I feel now is when life is starting for me; that now is when I can start to have the experiences I want to have.

I realize that being (or becoming) 28 is the start of a whole new chapter in my life. It's been 10 years since high school, and yet it's taken me this long to get my act together. But hey, no one said there was a deadline on life-- you take it as it comes.

And I would say that my general outlook on life is great.

1.) Although I'm not dating (actively) per se, I have continued to be confident toward the opposite sex. I'm not afraid to hold a passing glance at a girl on the train. Talking to hot women all day (I met a bikini model today,) has deafened the terror of talking to women in general. And I'm not as superficial as I used to be. To me, hot girls are nice to look at (and talk to,) but the girl-next-door turns me on a bit more.

I even got an e-mail today from a woman I bought a camera from a few weeks ago asking if I was single. (Definite plus, because although she's married, I think she wants to set me up with someone. Not even my friends would do that for me.) Especially funny since I was very professional and NOT flirting with her.

2.) I love my job. I'm selling shoes (among other things,) and I'm having a great time. I feel challenged; I can grow with this company. And it's nice not to be at the top-- currently I'm in the middle somewhere, not at the bottom, but not at the top. Yet.

3.) I'm caring less about what others think and more about what I think. I didn't use to have this kind of confidence, but I'm starting to see why it's important to be unfaltering on your path in life. People will try to influence you, but in the end you have yourself to look after.

4.) I'm making new friends. Different friends. There's the new people I work with, but those friendships will come over time. But I'm making friends outside of that. And that's always a good thing.

5.) I will be traveling more. First is Florida. Then Chicago. Then Denver. Then Alaska. Then (hopefully) Italy, which will be a major accomplishment.

6.) To go along with the above, I'm continuing to learn. Languages are my passion of late. I find myself currently studying Italian and French at the moment. Soon will be Spanish and Russian. And it's funny because where I work, I get to practice quite a bit (we get a lot of tourists.) I hope to be fluent in all of them over the next 5 years.

7.) And I'm reconnecting with my past loves. Photography is resurfacing as a (former) hobby of mine. Graphic Design. And soon, music.

8.) I have a plan. I want to have things within the next 5 years. A sizable 401K. A home. A motorcycle. I have things I want to do. I have places I want to go. I have a better grip on how I want my life to be.

These are (some of) the things I want to make happen in my life. Some of them are things I already have-- others are goals I can obtain. But the greatest change from before to now is my attitude; that I can accomplish them.

I think this is why my life is better at (almost) 28 than where it was ten years ago. It's a full-circle that has brought me to move forward. A nice, albeit interesting, piece of irony.

It seems that I may become more accomplished than I would ever have dreamed of in the first place.