30 for 30 for 30

Today is April 30th, and my big goal of accomplishing 30 of my favorite things for 30 days to celebrate my 30th birthday, unfortunately, was missed by a few.

THE MONTH OF APRIL, 2014

1. Game of Thrones
2. See some Improv Comedy
3. Run Outside
4. Shakespearean Tragedies
5. Sushi!
6. Journaling
7. Broadway Musicals
8. Live Story-Telling
9. Baking for others
10. Yoga
11. Graphic Novels/Children's Books
12. Chicken Tikka Masala
13. Drawing
14. Florence & the Machine
15. Traveling
16. Karaoke
17. Salsa Dancing!
18. Stationery shops
19. Chocolate Chip Cookies.
20. Writing Letters to Friends
21. the Goo Goo Dolls
22. Kitten-snuggling
23. Meryl Streep
24. Swimming
25. Grimms' Fairy Tales
26. Coffee Shops
27. Learning to say "Hello" in new languages.
28. Voice Acting
29. General Life Coaching/Counseling
30. Animated Films

I will admit, this month was a terribly busy one, and I even caught a stomach bug smack in the middle of it while travelling to my dream destination of Portland, Oregon with my sisters and best friend... but in the end the real accomplishment is that I turned 30.  The day was beautiful and sunny, I got to run outside along the Lake in shorts after 6 months of dreary winter, and I spent quality time with my family and some of my closest city people.  

There is a lot about me that I am proud of having as a 30 year old woman, but I still believe that I have a lot of growing up to do - particularly in understanding how to be a leader and how to present myself as a strong, confident, ambitious, professional woman now that I have absolutely no excuse to look lost.  I can't just let myself be the "new girl" with everything that I do, as much as it is comfortable to stay that way: starting new jobs but not a career, making friends with the new people who come as revolving doors, and then just having all these hobbies but not making them valuable assets to my being.

According to a radio poll I had heard a while back, women see themselves as their most beautiful at the age of 30, so I'm making it a point to do what I want this year and not stall on my ambitions any longer.

I miss drawing.  I hate the fact that I didn't have anything NEW to post as an illustration with this post.  I hate that while I feel I have been working so much, I haven't found the time to really draw and put my skills out there in conventions/art shows as I did last year.  It's going to be a tough set of months now that my day job might change this summer and travel plans are in the works, and I'll be applying for a graduate program in animation to bring myself back in the grind after 3 years of regret.  I need to keep my drawing abilities fresh for any project - a graphic novel, an illustration portfolio, animation concept art - so I can find a great foot in the door to that industry.

I'm 30, and God knows I need a push right now.