3 Decades
Happy 30th Birthday to me!!
It is a milestone birthday today and I think that a little reflection is needed. To make it easier for my aging brain, I'll just do it by decade.
Age 0-10
I was a hyper little kid (if I remember it correctly). Almost all of my memories have me running or jumping or tumbling. I was relatively care-free and a pretty happy boy. The center of my life was gymnastics and trampolining. To this day they still hold a very special place in my heart. I started when I was either 3 or 4 years old which means that most of this decade was spent in a gym doing all sorts of magical maneuvers with my body. It was an amazing time. It was due to gymnastics that I learned discipline and the necessity of following the rules. In gymnastics, one false move and you get injured. Unfortunately, I had first-hand experience with that sad truth. It taught me a respect for the rules and helped me become rigid in routines. Somethings have to be done in certain ways and as a child I learned that very clearly.
Also during this time, I learned about family. This was the only decade where my whole immediate family lived under the same roof. In fact, it was only a couple years down the road when all the changes began. I loved having everyone together. Family mealtimes where we would go around the table and talk about three things that happened that day and always finishing off with "And that's my day in a peanut shell" or some variation of that. This is the time when I learned what familial love is and that communication and support is always needed to keep a family close. My family came to as many gymnastics meets as possible and I went to as many dance competitions and piano recitals.
Age 10-20
The adolescent period is a very impressionable time for everyone. This is when I learned a lot about change. Between my sisters beginning their adult lives and going off to lead their own adventures, me going off to new schools and crazy new experiences, and the world in general shifting, I was faced with major change almost every year of this important decade. I'm not going to say I was graceful in adaptation but I'm still breathing today so I must have done something right.
During these ages I learned a lot about people and even human nature. I learned that there are people that are only supposed to be in your life only temporarily and there are some that shouldn't be in your life at all. I also learned that you don't always have control over who is there and sometimes you are forced to have someone there that shouldn't be there. At school I had friends, but outside of school and "certified school and extra-curricular activities", I didn't do much. While a lot of people my age started going to parties I stayed in perfecting the art of imagination. Through many hard times, my imagination and some incredibly detailed daydreams really kept me going.
Another big change that happened is that school stopped coming easy to me. In elementary school, I got straight As for the most part. Rarely did I have homework as I got most of the work done in class. Junior high was a bit of a change as things began to get harder and then high school required homework every night. That was such an unwelcome change that my parents had to force me to do at least 30 minutes of homework every day just to get me in the habit of doing it. Homework was a hard truth that even into college a bit, I struggled with. I was supposed to be the smart kid and I felt that slip away until I was only a pretender...or so my dramatic teenage self thought.
Age 20-30
Maybe it is because it is the most recent stage of my life, but I feel as though my it was in my twenties that I changed the most. I have changed so much over the past ten years that it is hard to know where to begin.
My biggest goal in life was always to graduate college. Well, I did that. I didn't really have a plan for what I wanted to do after that and even the moments where I had an idea, I didn't do anything to execute that plan. It was during this that I realized that things don't just come easy in life; and in many cases, I don't want them to come easy. Career life has been smacking me in the face ever since I graduated college at age 25. I wasn't prepared for the real world though. In fact, I'm still preparing. In my twenties, I've worked ten different jobs ranging from flipping burgers at the local Wendy's to being an Intern for an Albanian organization to being the General Manager of a Foot Locker. I have done a lot of "things" but I never really created a life. That is something still in the workings.
The circle of friends that I had when I was 20 has nearly all diminished. There are a few that I still have contact with and I love those people. I have had a number of people come into my life and then leave my life completely. Some of these include individuals who I thought were going to be my support system forever. At one point, I loved them. I have new friends that I have made in the last couple years who seem to have what it takes to carry the mantle for the long haul and I love them very much. In my twenties, I learned about love.
Some loves are not meant to be forever. Some are. Some will only be held forever within myself because the time for their love has passed. Some love fades but will never go away. Some loves go away but will never fade. Faces and voices and laughs and words and experiences and memories will be the scars make my heart unique. People from college are unforgettable no matter how much I want to forget them. Others I have sadly forgotten but I wish I could remember.
I learned how to love, what it means to love, and what love feels like...and I am blessed to continually have love in my life.
Age 30
Well....here I am. I am more blessed than I have ever been. Looking back on my metaphorical path, there have been some incredibly rocky times and parts of the path have been flooded over but I also see some nice downhill paths and moments of green grass and flowers. I now stand at the top of a hill. I am in a good place. I have friends that I love. I have a family with whom I am continually strengthening a relationship with. And I even have a special someone. I have a job that I enjoy and although it my not be the dream job, it is a job that is opening up opportunities for me to get to that dream job.
I have the most amazing people in my life and if you are reading this right now, chances are that you are one of those people. I'm pretty sure at least 99% of the traffic to this blog is from my Facebook friends.
Here's to another decade of learning!
*Gosh I'm old*
Brady P.
It is a milestone birthday today and I think that a little reflection is needed. To make it easier for my aging brain, I'll just do it by decade.
Age 0-10
I was a hyper little kid (if I remember it correctly). Almost all of my memories have me running or jumping or tumbling. I was relatively care-free and a pretty happy boy. The center of my life was gymnastics and trampolining. To this day they still hold a very special place in my heart. I started when I was either 3 or 4 years old which means that most of this decade was spent in a gym doing all sorts of magical maneuvers with my body. It was an amazing time. It was due to gymnastics that I learned discipline and the necessity of following the rules. In gymnastics, one false move and you get injured. Unfortunately, I had first-hand experience with that sad truth. It taught me a respect for the rules and helped me become rigid in routines. Somethings have to be done in certain ways and as a child I learned that very clearly.
Also during this time, I learned about family. This was the only decade where my whole immediate family lived under the same roof. In fact, it was only a couple years down the road when all the changes began. I loved having everyone together. Family mealtimes where we would go around the table and talk about three things that happened that day and always finishing off with "And that's my day in a peanut shell" or some variation of that. This is the time when I learned what familial love is and that communication and support is always needed to keep a family close. My family came to as many gymnastics meets as possible and I went to as many dance competitions and piano recitals.
Age 10-20
The adolescent period is a very impressionable time for everyone. This is when I learned a lot about change. Between my sisters beginning their adult lives and going off to lead their own adventures, me going off to new schools and crazy new experiences, and the world in general shifting, I was faced with major change almost every year of this important decade. I'm not going to say I was graceful in adaptation but I'm still breathing today so I must have done something right.
During these ages I learned a lot about people and even human nature. I learned that there are people that are only supposed to be in your life only temporarily and there are some that shouldn't be in your life at all. I also learned that you don't always have control over who is there and sometimes you are forced to have someone there that shouldn't be there. At school I had friends, but outside of school and "certified school and extra-curricular activities", I didn't do much. While a lot of people my age started going to parties I stayed in perfecting the art of imagination. Through many hard times, my imagination and some incredibly detailed daydreams really kept me going.
Another big change that happened is that school stopped coming easy to me. In elementary school, I got straight As for the most part. Rarely did I have homework as I got most of the work done in class. Junior high was a bit of a change as things began to get harder and then high school required homework every night. That was such an unwelcome change that my parents had to force me to do at least 30 minutes of homework every day just to get me in the habit of doing it. Homework was a hard truth that even into college a bit, I struggled with. I was supposed to be the smart kid and I felt that slip away until I was only a pretender...or so my dramatic teenage self thought.
Age 20-30
Maybe it is because it is the most recent stage of my life, but I feel as though my it was in my twenties that I changed the most. I have changed so much over the past ten years that it is hard to know where to begin.
My biggest goal in life was always to graduate college. Well, I did that. I didn't really have a plan for what I wanted to do after that and even the moments where I had an idea, I didn't do anything to execute that plan. It was during this that I realized that things don't just come easy in life; and in many cases, I don't want them to come easy. Career life has been smacking me in the face ever since I graduated college at age 25. I wasn't prepared for the real world though. In fact, I'm still preparing. In my twenties, I've worked ten different jobs ranging from flipping burgers at the local Wendy's to being an Intern for an Albanian organization to being the General Manager of a Foot Locker. I have done a lot of "things" but I never really created a life. That is something still in the workings.
The circle of friends that I had when I was 20 has nearly all diminished. There are a few that I still have contact with and I love those people. I have had a number of people come into my life and then leave my life completely. Some of these include individuals who I thought were going to be my support system forever. At one point, I loved them. I have new friends that I have made in the last couple years who seem to have what it takes to carry the mantle for the long haul and I love them very much. In my twenties, I learned about love.
Some loves are not meant to be forever. Some are. Some will only be held forever within myself because the time for their love has passed. Some love fades but will never go away. Some loves go away but will never fade. Faces and voices and laughs and words and experiences and memories will be the scars make my heart unique. People from college are unforgettable no matter how much I want to forget them. Others I have sadly forgotten but I wish I could remember.
I learned how to love, what it means to love, and what love feels like...and I am blessed to continually have love in my life.
Age 30
Well....here I am. I am more blessed than I have ever been. Looking back on my metaphorical path, there have been some incredibly rocky times and parts of the path have been flooded over but I also see some nice downhill paths and moments of green grass and flowers. I now stand at the top of a hill. I am in a good place. I have friends that I love. I have a family with whom I am continually strengthening a relationship with. And I even have a special someone. I have a job that I enjoy and although it my not be the dream job, it is a job that is opening up opportunities for me to get to that dream job.
I have the most amazing people in my life and if you are reading this right now, chances are that you are one of those people. I'm pretty sure at least 99% of the traffic to this blog is from my Facebook friends.
Here's to another decade of learning!
*Gosh I'm old*
Brady P.
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