Almost 30

Okay. So I guess I am still almost five months away from the big 3-0, but the point is, it is coming. I have said that I am looking forward to it, and to be honest, am I. BUT, am I where I thought I would be at 30? Not really. I have accomplished a lot, and I have done a lot, but had you asked me when I graduated from Western Michigan University in 2000, "Is this where you will be at 30?", I would have laughed and said "No Way!." Ah, the hope and determination of youth.

You know those 5 year and 10 year and 20 year plans you do when you are younger? Has anyone REALLY fulfilled EVERY thing that they thought they would in those time spans? Of course not. They are unrealistic. They only set you up for disappointment and make you feel like a little bit of a failure. So if you are out there and filling one out, don't do it! Don't put a time line on yourself, on your LIFE. Yes, it is great to have goals. I think you HAVE to have goals. But give yourself the time to reach them. I said that I would be on Broadway by the time I was 25. That deadline passed almost 5 years ago, and I still have not performed on Broadway. I have come close, and I have done many other amazing shows, but I still haven't reached that goal. Am I giving up because I didn't reach it 5 years ago? Of course not. But, does a little part of me feel like I have disappointed myself? Yes. And that is my point. Time lines set you up for disappointment. You never know what will come at you on any given day in life, good or bad. And these situations will throw you off your time line.

I used to love, it must have been the dork in me, doing time lines in school. Remember when you would be assigned a period of history, or a historical person and you would create a time line of events or accomplishments? Those were fun! And this is where time lines are useful because they highlight events that have already happened, and, for the most part, nothing happening now is going to effect those time lines. You could start a time line and know that you would be finishing it. A personal time line is ever changing and evolving. So we can't beat ourselves up if things aren't happening when we want them to. Maybe I should create a time line for myself and start it from today forward with out any dates. Just a list of my life goals and an empty line next to them, so I can write in the date when I accomplish them. Now all the pressure will be gone. Now I can focus my energy without worrying that I have let too much time pass by. Now my goals will become reality.