Now that I'm 30

Two years ago I wrote a blog post about entitled "before i turn 30". Reading it now I realized that I had no clue what was going to happen but knew that it was gonna happen whether or not I was prepared. And oh was I not prepared. Although I achieved what I hoped to have achieved academically by age 30, I was still lacking in some very important areas, namely finances, relationships and goal setting. Sadly all 3 are intertwined and failing at one meant failing at all. Now 4 months into 30 and I can honestly say that I miss my 20s. I miss the days of reckless spending, frivolous living and all around bad choices. But do I really? Do I really miss the nights I can hardly remember and the mornings I hope to forget? That's gonna be a NO. Now that I;m 30 I can honestly say that life has come full circle. I have come face to face with the issues that I have been running from for the past 10 years. Though I have accomplished a lot academically in the last decade of my life, I have failed where proper planning and execution are concerned. Turning 30 made me realize that my wing it days are not sufficient when it comes to life and preparing to take on a life partner, start a family and own a home. I just am not ready. Sad as it may sound I masterminded my own demise but not being more pragmatic about my future. And now at ground zero, I have nowhere to go but up. No one to fall back on but myself and no one to be accountable to but myself. So what am I going to do? Turn it around of course. The way I see it I have 3 years to get it together. Three years to pay off my debts, 3 years to get in better shape; mentally,physically,and emotionally. Can it be done? Yes! Will it be done? Yes! How will I get it done? Metrics. What are metrics, a method of measuring something, or the results obtained from this. Simply put I need to measure my output as it relates to my finances, my health, my thoughts and set SMART goals. So here goes

Financial Goals
1. Pay off credit card by June 30th 2016
2. Save $5,000 by December 2016 to pay towards student loan/ invest in a small business.

Health Goals
1. Work out for 15 minutes every morning.
2. Run 10 miles a month for May 2016

Personal Goals
1. Write and Schedule 3 blog posts per week for the remainder of 2016
2. Write and schedule 3 weekly Facebook posts for the 3 social media accounts that I manage.

By writing these down, I will hold myself accountable and will ask anyone who reads this to hold me accountable as well. The time for change has come and gone, its now the time for action.

P.S. Scroll through my previous posts for the blog post entitled "Before I'm 30".

Before I'm 30

Life seemed so much easier during childhood. I saw my parents coming and going to and from work with what I thought was little effort on their part.I paid no attention to the gravity of the situation that was my life as at the time ignorance was most definitely bliss. I had no inclination as to what it took to survive in the real world as my duties were eat,sleep, school repeat.

Now my childhood is gone and I realize that the mother and father I once idolized were mere mortals. Born with a flaw that my childish eyes could never have detected. But alas I have come to know life for what it is, "the sum of my choices". I thank them for some they've made and wonder about those they didn't.

At 28 I find myself on a constant soul searching mission, desperately trying to figure it all out. Some days the answer seems all to clear:get an education, get a job and get married THE END. Other days it's just not that simple. On the days I seem to have it all figured out, all is at peace but on the days when nothing goes according to plan all hell breaketh loose. If I'm honest though I've made some mistakes along the way. Some laughable some not. Some that will take a life time to repay, others that will be forgotten in a day.

Now at 28 my journey into adulthood continues. The choices I've made and failed to make have brought me to this junction. There is no clear path forward but before I turn 30 I sure would like to figure some of it out.