Well, I’m officially 30 years old as of a few days ago. Three decades and a milestone that often calls for reflection because ten years prior I was 20, and hitting 20 years meant you were out to claim the world (or so it sometimes feels is expected). A lot has happened in the past decade and a lot has not happened. Of course I expected to accomplish things by now that have not been accomplished. Such as having written, and wishing to publish, my first novel. All I have is two novels started that now gather dust and one flash fiction piece that was published in 2017. So it goes to say my writing aspirations have fallen a bit short.

However, life is not just one endeavor. It is a multitude of adventures some of which we never knew we would experience. So I am focusing this post on what I have done over the past ten years that I treasure and will leave off on a few of my upcoming achievements.

First, I have maintained this blog for four years. I have remained (fairly) regular with my posts as well and I enjoy discussing books and related matters here. It is a place where I can geek out about things I don’t often get to run on about with an attentive listener or fellow fan. It is only when looking back that we see how far we have come because four years is not a short time. I hope to maintain this blog for years to come and, hopefully, be able to discuss the books I will eventually write and have published (I will make it happen).

Moving a bit further back, toward my early twenties, I had the privilege to travel outside of the U.S. for the first time and visit New Zealand for an extended period. I absolutely love the country and hope to visit again some day. I made several lifelong friends as well that I would never have been able to meet otherwise. Staying on travel but several years later, I had visited England for just a few days and then explored Ireland. I later took a little vacation in the Dominican Republic. I love to travel and hope I will be able to make more trips in the future as there are many places I still want to visit. Though time will be a more scarce the next several years.

Shortly after that first international traveling experience, I finished my Bachelors degree and went on to obtain a Masters degree in the Fine Arts. I am currently working on a Masters in Business Administration which will likely be the final degree I obtain as there will need to be very special circumstances to encourage me to obtain a Doctorate. I will be finishing the MBA later this year. I have always loved learning, which is one reason I love reading, and I intend to continue learning about this universe we live in until the day I die. I enjoy it and remain fascinated with what is out there to discover.

It was near the very end of my Bachelors degree when I met a girl. We knew immediately that we were stuck with each other for life and after waiting a bit too long, primarily due to my working on my MFA, we eventually became engaged and shortly after married. This year we will have been married three years. Time has definitely not slowed down. I became an uncle nearly two years ago and will be welcoming another niece in the near future. I will also become a father this summer. I know my life is about to change in ways I can only guess at, but I have wanted to have children for some time and I cannot be more excited to welcome our little girl when she arrives. We have already prepared her room in the house. It is astounding how much joy it brings me when I have a moment to think about the fact that we will be parents. There are times when I catch myself staring at my wife and our growing child and simply melt away into the excitement of what is to come.

So despite the many goals I had wished to accomplish by the time I turned 30, I feel extremely lucky about all I have accomplished and all that is happening in the near future. There are many things that have happened these past ten years of course. These are just my favorites that come to mind today.

I think any dreams and goals change as life happens and expectations get derailed. But that is life and sometimes it turns out better than we can ever expect.