I turned 33 this past December. I love to joke that after this year I will officially be older than God. I don’t feel 33. I still feel 27. Or maybe 17. I only feel my age when I wake up in the morning with a pain in my neck that will basically incapacitate me for the day. At 33 I can now injure myself in my sleep.
In all seriousness, I can’t get over how quickly the years are passing now. I know that time is only going to continue to speed up for me as I age. I mentioned in my monthly intentions post that this last year was the best year of my life and I meant it. It’s not that this year didn’t bring its challenges for me. I had plenty a melt down and personal frustration, but I learned so much and grew so much as a person that the only thing I can do is look back on this past year with positivity and gratitude.
Here’s a little list of the things I want to remember about being 32:
Launching my business, 80 Percent Vegan. Born out of my desire to provide support for people interested in veganism, 80 Percent Vegan was designed to be an online space for people to ‘be as vegan as they can’ without judgement. I launched the business, worked with a coach, wrote a book, took beautiful photos, created lots of content and just made it happen. It was the first time I ever truly went all-in on my entrepreneurial dreams and I loved it. Creating something out of nothing was the best feeling ever. While I have the business on hold as I pursue more of my writing these days, I have nothing but gratitude and pride for this accomplishment. It has given me the confidence to boldly pursue any dream of mine.
Going mostly vegan. This year was all about exploration around vegan cooking. I learned how to jazz up a jar of marinara sauce, how to create a deliciously creamy vegan Alfredo, how to perfectly fry up some tofu for the best stir fry and how to cook a pot of beans low and slow all day on Sunday. I learned that I don’t really need meat or at least not a whole lot of it. I learned how delicious plants can be and I learned how to eat more in alignment with my core values. I still love cheese, though. One year being mostly vegan hasn’t lessened my love for a triple creme brie, but hey that’s why my business was called 80 Percent Vegan. No one’s perfect.
Joyful movement. At 32, I started the longest and most consistent stint at exercise in my adult life. I’ve been going strong working out about 4 times a week since May. What made it finally click for me? Finding movement that I love and creating an accountability system. I never in a million years thought that I could find movement that I look forward to doing everyday, but I did. I used to force myself to run or do cardio or all manner of miserable activity because I felt like I should. I was ready to throw the shoulds out the window and do what made me happy. I knew I loved to dance, so I tried out a place here in Oakland called Hipline. My friend Tonya absolutely loved it there, so I tried it. I began with a month-long trial membership where I just danced and danced and danced. Eventually I settled into a weekly class on Saturdays that I attend with fervor. I would love to dance more, but I also love my training sessions with my friend which is where the accountability comes in. She used to post these boss-ass videos of herself working out and I swear my body just cried out for the opportunity to move like that. I told Keith that I wanted to ask to work out with her. He knew that I’d hem and haw over it and get too scared to ask her, so he called her up and asked her for me. We started off simple, but we stayed consistent three times a week. When we began, I could barely last five minutes on the elliptical for my warm-up and now I do the most badass shit all the time. Excuse my language, but I’m really in awe over myself. I do all sorts of squats and lifting and ab workouts. I love the friendship I’ve developed with her, I love the feeling of really sweating with consistency and I also love how strong my quads are. Chances are if you’re around me for very long, I’ll force you to feel the strength in my leg muscles. It’s weird, but hey, I’m so proud.
Learning how to take care of myself. I have a longer post about self care in the works, so I’m not going to steal my own thunder here, but I will say that 32 was the year that I realized that I am the only one on this earth that is going to take care of me. I am blessed with a great family and the most kind and sweet and caring partner in the world, but no one can take care of me like me. I protect myself and my feelings and my energy and just generally look out for myself now in a way that I never have. It feels so good to have my own back.
Finding freedom with money. For as long as I can remember, I have lived in lack with money. There was never enough despite whatever I earned. Because I felt this way, I was a bit reckless with my spending and my saving. This year I shifted my mindset. I stopped telling myself I was bad with money and I started to make smarter decisions with how I use money and how I attract more money into my life. This is a relatively new discovery for me, so I haven’t made any major or material shifts in my overall wealth but I feel so much better and I think that approaching money with a positive mindset is going to be the key for me. I can’t wait to see how this grows over time.
Rediscovering my spirituality. Last, but most certainly not least, this was the year that I rediscovered my own spirituality. I cut myself off of spirituality for a long time because I was raised in a super religious household and I needed to find my own way. I thought I had to reject everything spiritual when I rejected the religious dogma that I was raised with, but that led to me disconnecting from my own soul. Of course, I would have glimmers of my spirituality here or there, but overall I was just angry about what I had seen in my life related to the church. I spent a lot of time disconnected and downright angry and I don’t recommend that one bit. I learned this year that there is a whole side of spirituality that has nothing to do with religion. Reconnecting with that has been downright life changing. Like, no lie, my entire life has changed. I can’t wait to pursue this further over the next year.
Getting engaged. I added this as a bit of an afterthought after cruising my photo library on my phone for a picture to share with this post, but HOW COULD I FORGET ONE OF MY BEST MOMENTS LAST YEAR?? After almost eight years of dating, I proposed to my love in Paris and it was the most special thing ever to me. He went on a two-week trip to Burning Man in August and I missed him so much. Like, heart hurts missed him. I was in my dance class one Saturday while he was away and it hit me like a bolt of lightning that I was finally ready to get engaged. I was so wishy washy about getting married for so long, but it just felt right.
Thanks for making it to the end of this monster post. If you had to do a wrap-up like this over the last twelve months of your life, what would be something you’d share? I’d love to hear!
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