For the last few weeks, I have been DREADING this day! Leaving your 20’s and entering your 30’s is absolutely terrifying! Or… is it?
Flashback to 30 years ago as I was being forced out of my mother's uterus. I use the word 'force' because I was perfectly content in there - sleeping, eating, pooping. Now I'm out here adulting like a boss but yet still trying to navigate this thing called life. It honestly scares the shit out of me when I think about getting older - but then I start to think about how amazing the last 29 years have been, and can only hope that the next 29 are just as great.
Instead of stressing myself out and trying to stop something that I have zero control over, I decided to reminisce on all the amazing things I accomplished in my 20’s and what I hope to accomplish in my 30’s.
Getting Married I think this is by far one of the biggest accomplishments I've made thus far. I'm not trying to sound all mushy with this either. Just the simple fact that I finally found (again) someone to spend the rest of my life with, AND they haven't killed me in my sleep yet is definitely worth celebrating. And vice-versa. When I was out there dating, I always found annoying flaws in each person and once those flaws showed, I was pretty much high-tailing it out of there. My husband, who has many flaws (he threw away EVERY SINGLE ONE of the little storage containers that I just bought from Amazon because he thought they were disposable....), yet I still love him to pieces.
To be honest, I didn't think that I would get married before turning 30, and some people think getting married in your 20's is too early. And to those people - I say - 'Ok, then get married when you feel it's appropriate..."
I Relaunched My Website & Grew My Brand In the summer of 2015, I decided to do an entire rebranding of JessicaThompson.com. At this point, I had this website for quite some time now and even had a few people who actually wanted to be guest writers on the site! I was finally getting noticed online and had received a lot of positive feedback.
After much debate, I decided on the name "Muddled Millennial." I wanted to come up with a name that would reflect the brand in a positive way. The word "Muddled" is actually a synonym for the word Confused. And well, Millennial is pretty self-explanatory.
Three years later and I am still so happy with the way everything is turning out! The brand is definitely growing every single day. I even just created a new Group Chat on Facebook that has almost 900 people in it! It's going so well, that I also decided to completely change the angle of my first book. Stay tuned. I have high hopes for 2018! This is the year of the Muddled Millennial!
I Moved Out of My Parents House (And Then Moved Back Home) But Then Moved Out Again!
When I was 22 years old, and dating my ex, I for some reason thought I was ready to move out. Turns out - HA! I wasn't! But it was definitely a lesson learned. They say you never truly know someone until you live with them and for me, that transpired to be true. I really began to see his true colors and decided it was best to move back home with my parents.
When Austin and I started dating again back in 2013, we talked about moving in together. I was a little skeptical at first, especially because we were only dating for a few months at the time. Although there have been times when it wasn't easy, I absolutely loved living with my new roommate and still do almost 5 years later.
I Changed Career Paths
For as long as I could remember, I have always wanted to be a teacher. So, it made perfect sense to continue my education on the path to becoming a teacher.
I made it so far, and then I took one Creative Writing class and absolutely fell in love with it! I had an amazing professor who helped me to take something else that I had a passion for and turn it into something I can use in my everyday life.
Working as a writer has had its ups and downs, BUT just like with any job, the more you work at it, the more doors will open for you. I have met some awesome people doing what I do. From musicians to comedians, to other bloggers, this has been such a wild ride.
We Adopted Our FURever Best Friend - Bailey!
As many of you know, my husband works nights. Even before he changed jobs, he would work super late and I was home alone most of the time. I hated it at first and from time to time would find myself feeling a little bit lonely. So what does one do when they are lonely?
Some would say they would actually leave the house and spend time with friends, while others, like myself, hit the interwebs in search of the perfect dog to adopt!
It took a lot of convincing to get Austin on board, but when he finally did, the search was on! We checked out a few local shelters but had a specific dog in mind. We met a lot, but they just didn't feel like they were meant to be ours.
Then someone mentioned Craigslist Pets - YES, CRAIGSLIST! Apparently, you can put your pet up for adoption on there and as it turns out, a lot of people do.
Most of the dogs are in need of rehoming, and that is where we found Bailey. He was living in Rahway, NJ with a family who took him in thinking they could handle a puppy plus a bunch of other animals.
After exchanging emails, texts, pictures, and phone calls (plus using Google Image to make sure they're home was an actual home), it was time to pick up our little guy. They had named him Twinkie, so that was quickly changed. Who the hell names their dog, Twinkie?! Bailey will be 5 this August, and for the last 4 years he has brought so much happiness, stress, and laughs to our home!
What I'd Like To Accomplish In My 30's:
- Buy a home - Travel out of the country; yeah I've never traveled internationally. - Have a shit ton of babies - Publish "Muddled Millennial" as a book then start working on all of the other writing projects I have on deck. - And last but not least, I hope to accomplish nothing but happiness in my 30's. From all of the love, everyone has shown me last night, I can tell that it's going to be a great decade!