Gratitude.

Last night I had the fortune of hearing Noah Strycker speak about his 3-month experience researching Adelie penguins in the Antarctic. He wrote a book about it, and from what I've heard from him and read of it so far I highly recommend it. He's a great storyteller, and between the tales and the pictures I had a perma-grin for about 3 hours afterward.

He was only 22 when he did this excursion. When I was 22, I did my own excursion cross-country to the Bay Area, but I had no real goals (other than getting as far from the east coast without leaving the continental US) or skills or hobbies. Still don't, technically speaking. I look around at my coworkers 8-10 years younger than me and marvel at their expertise in certain subjects, at their career drive, at their ability to seemingly know what they want to do with their lives. On the other end of the spectrum, other friends had kids by the time they were 22 - an excursion of a whole other variety.

But do not despair, dear reader! This is not a "woe is me, what have I done with my life" post - quite the contrary, actually. I've done a hell of a lot with my life! I've seen states and countries most people have not. I've sustained employment when I wanted to, built some reasonably generic and widely transferable skills, and survived just fine without a job, too. I've got a ziplock bag stuffed so full of concert tickets that it's getting hard to close. I've managed to hold on to everyone who is dear to me, and cut loose everyone who is not. I've attempted (and failed) to learn guitar, pottery, acting, Spanish - but I had a whole lot of fun trying. I've loved and lost and I'm a better person for each of those experiences. I. Jumped. Out. Of. A. Plane.

I'm starting to think that 36 is the new 30. When I entered my third decade, everyone talked about how great it would be - I'd be comfortable with myself, I'd know what I wanted, I'd know how to make "it" happen, blah blah blah. It took me a bit longer than my friends, I guess, but I think I'm here. And I think it shows in how others see me, too.

And I'm loving every minute of it.