In the middle of checking papers and preparing for the upcoming quarterly exams, the thought of my upcoming 30th birth anniversary surfaced, and I was promptly distracted. I honestly don’t want this to be a big deal. No big party. No grand celebration. Not even a night out with friends.
I just wanted some quiet.
Then a friend messages me asking about our previous plan of going to Bali during the Christmas break. Unfortunately, the money I had been saving up for it had gone somewhere else, and I had to say I don’t think I was going to be able to go. We ended up thinking of going to a local beach, and I thought of doing it during the sembreak, which was a week before my birthday. That way, I could celebrate my birthday away from the toxicity of work and the city in one of my favorite places: the beach. It’ll be quiet enough but not lonely as I’ll be travelling with one of my closest friends.
Bohol was up first, but airfare was killer, so we had to put that on the back burner for a while. La Union during the surf festival came up and we got excited and we started planning and then just when we were at the height of our excitement came the realization that the schedule was just… OFF.
Thanks to another friend, we got the idea to go to Baler instead. After checking various places for accommodations, travel fees, things to do, we are now 90% decided on going there instead. The draw was the surfing, for which Baler is known. The problem is that my friend and I don’t even know HOW TO SWIM. Oh lord. But we are two adventurous young ladies, and we’ll try anything at least once.
Initial inquiries have been made, and we’re hoping that our first choice for accommodations has an available room for us.
Planning aside, I’m also looking forward to turning 30. Batchmates who’ve been turning 30 left and right this year have been calling it Thirty Flirty or Dirty Thirty. None of those really fit me, and I wanted to come up with my own version, but the best I could do is Thirsty Thirty. I don’t mean that I’m thirsting for alcohol; I thirst for life! As cliche as that may be, I suppose that’s true. I’ve lived through my twenties behind the boring safety of rules and responsibilities. I’ve made tons of mistakes professionally (I SHOULD’VE SAID YES TO XCE and continued  my MA), financially (I never really was money-smart), and personally (no comment), and the way I’ve reacted or dealt with all those things has always been with my head. PURELY. MY. HEAD.
I kept shutting out what my heart was saying because I saw how letting your heart make your decisions messed things up for a lot of people. I wasn’t going to let that happen.
Where did that leave me? Almost penniless, stuck at level 2 of my job, yes, but sort of happy, in a way. Well, maybe content is a better word. Have I taken steps to move towards Happier? Baby steps, yes. I’m a careful person by nature hence the baby steps, but I’d like to think I’m getting there. 🙂
I’m looking forward to my birthday. I’ll be leaving my twenties behind and with it everything that’s been holding me back. My first step? Conquer my fear of going out in the open waters. Baler, here I come. 🙂
hear me out 