I am starting this post a month in advance in hopes that my foresight will allow a well-thought out treatise on my entrance into my next decade of living.  What will probably happen is that I’ll put this off until the night before, but regardless…here we go.

…and immediately I stalled and wandered away from this post. Now it’s…the day before my birthday, and I decided that I need to frame this as a “What Do I Want My Nieces and Nephews To Know?” post.

Time to look smart, put on your glasses!

You see, I was what they term a “Surprise! Baby.” I am not that much older than my nieces and nephews, and I am quite a bit younger than my siblings. We all get along. I call this a fortuitous circumstance. Some of them are in high school, some in college, some are on the beginning stages of their work and family lives. What do I want to tell them? Oh, some of them read this blog. WHAT DO I WANT TO TELL YOU GUYS?

In no order:

Read all the time. When I got out of college I was so DONE with reading, because I had so much to read for class. It took me a few years, but I discovered there were plenty of interesting reads out there that I would not be tested on. Read fiction, read non-fiction, read current events, read magazines, read blogs…everything. Every interview I have read with a successful businessperson or politician has stated that absorbing information is a key source of success. I believe this applies to all facets of life.

If you have a passion to do something, do it. You’ll figure it out. Do it on the side of your day job or make it into your day job, either one. Whatever makes sense. Don’t let the nagging desire to do/be something sit there for too long, or it starts eating away at you. I told my 7th grade teacher I wanted to be a guitarist and he said guitarists don’t make any money. Last week I made $100 for playing guitar and I got paid for traveling and working with musicians I love. Sorry, Mr. V…wrong answer.

The way to get a job is to network and connect. There are postings for 1000’s of jobs online and tens of thousands of people apply for them. You might get hired that way, for sure. The odds are higher, though, that someone you meet will hook you up with something good if you announce what you want to everyone you know. Make it a practice to introduce people to each other, too…this keeps the wheel going around.

Eat well. At some point you’ll start to be curious about where your food comes from and how its source affects your body. I’m no vegan, but I tried it for a while and I’m glad. Experiment a lot with new foods from different cultures. Learn to cook. Read about what it means to eat meat, dairy, organic, non-organic, etc. I don’t have a Food Path for you to follow, but just be educated on all aspects of the fuel you put in your body, even if it’s a Twinkie (ack).

Boxes Schmoxes. Fitting into some sort of box…how I *think* I should be, has been the cause of a great deal of stress and worry in my 20’s, as with most people I imagine. Nothing terrible but perhaps a lot of time wasted worrying about unchangeable things or insignificant things.  I have heard this might let up in my 30’s, and perhaps that suggestion has brought about a sense of relief. Bring it on, and stop worrying so much.

Have fun for goodness’ sake! Sometimes a Puritan value and work ethic set in, and we get into the groove that “work” and “responsibility” are separate from “fun,” which is just a happy bonus that happens sometimes. I call bull. There’s too much to enjoy around this planet to not have fun, and if you work hard (there is space for that work ethic thing for sure), you will find that place where “ability to feed yourself” meets your calling, and that is a fun thing to know. Do it.

I’m sure this list will grow, but simple is good. Feel free to add your additions in the comments!

Some of the amazing nieces I have…y’all better read this.