Reflections on 30

Earlier this month I celebrated my birthday. It was the end of 30 and the beginning of 31 for me.

To be honest, until a few days before, I wasn’t very excited about it. In fact, I was actually dreading it a bit. That’s because my mind was focused on all the goals I haven’t yet reached, all the dreams I haven’t yet accomplished, and all the projects I haven’t even started.

A few days before my birthday, I took some time to look back on my 30th year of life and take stock of not only everything I did accomplish, but also everything I’ve been through in the past year and that I’ve come through on the other side.

So many highlights have to do with the project that occupied most of my time this year - Toby & Mikka’s, the healthy treats (for dogs and cats) brand I’ve been building alongside my brother: from launching new products like our Sample Packs and our line of Barks with Turkey, to doing several collaborations with other, more established brands in the pet industry, to getting so many kind words and positive feedback from our clients - there’s been so much goodness in this part of my life

After years of debating with myself (yes, really!), I finally launched a separate Instagram account focused on health and well-being, and have been enjoying creating content for it. It’s been a little quiet in the last few weeks, but there will be so much to share in the months to come.

I also had some exciting wins in the kitchen: I made chocolate hummus for the first time ever, which turned out absolutely delicious, and, after years of trying different versions, I finally found the perfect pesto recipe too

I finished knitting my second ever pair of socks, enjoyed wearing my first pair all throughout winter and spring, and started two more projects (a winter sweater and a summer tank top)

I discovered a couple of apps that have made a big difference for me: the Notion app, which has become my go-to tool for getting my mind and life organized, and the Overdrive app, which has helped me start rebuilding a regular reading habit.

--------------------------

What’s more, this all happened during a year that included a pandemic and countless heartbreaking news, as well as plenty of challenges, changes and hardships for my own family, which is helping me to appreciate it all even more.

This exercise has helped me feel so much better about my 30th year of life, to get excited about the brand new year ahead of me, and to really enjoy celebrating this moment in time.

I hope that if you too feel stuck, unsatisfied or unsure about the last week, month, or even year of your life, you can take a moment and really look back through that period of time, to find the positives - the accomplishments, the wins, and the steps forward - because they really are there, however big or little they may be, even when things feel particularly hard, scary or uncertain. 

So tell me, what’s been the highlight of the last month for you?