It has come. Today is the Birthday-eve of my 28th Birthday. Just ten years ago I leapt into adulthood with excitement, apprehension, hope and a younger pair of legs. I think this is a natural pause for me, to review how the past ten years have gone, to look at where I'm going and to reflect a little on the lessons, changes and outcomes.
I've been thinking about 18-year-old Michelle a lot lately. Since almost all of you gorgeous readers are my family, almost all of you knew her. You'll remember she was very headstrong, hard-working, unforgiving, sarcastic, shy and awkward. Here she is:
On my 18th birthday, ten years ago tomorrow, the UK, US, Poland and Australia declared war on Iraq and began airstrikes on Baghdad, I attended a inter-school conference on the Arab-Israeli peace process and I received a laptop for university from my parents.
I expected to hit a number of milestones over the next ten-years, and though some of them didn't happen for me, I was given new challenges and opportunities that I never thought were possible. I did things that were literally beyond my wildest dreams. For example, when I was 18, I had visited three foreign countries, France, the US and Spain. Ten years later, I have visited those three all again, and 23 others. Oh, you wanna hear them? Well, I did make a little list, (in no particular order); Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Morocco, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, India, Romania, Ireland, Turkey, Qatar, Iceland, (I actually stopped there before I remembered...) Tunisia. And I have skipped over the borders for visas in Rwanda and DRC. Wow!
But more than the adventures and travel, the biggest thing has been how much my mind has opened and changed and developed. When I was 18, things were so black and white, I was very judgmental and self assured. Overtime I have learnt that there is some middle-ground, that balance and understanding are important. I have made mistakes, bad ones, and had to work through the consequences and learnt to forgive myself. I have learnt to relax, to be thankful, to appreciate my family.
In ten years time, I don't know where I'll be, or who I'll be, but I hope to look back at 28 year old Michelle and smile at how she really did think she knew-it-all!
Happy Birthday to Me - I'm off to the beach!
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