27

Today marks my 27th birthday.

I like to view birthdays the way most people view New Years. It's a time to review where I've been, what I've learned, what I should have learned, the highs, the lows, the growth i've made, the regression i've made, the experiences i've welcomed into my life, the ones i shied away from, etc....

It's also a time to make resolutions and set new goals for the coming year. To continue to look at the difference between where I am and where I'd like to be - at least to the extent that I've figured out where I want to be.

A lot of this year was realizing that in a lot of ways I just don't know where that is.

It's been a year of questioning what I thought I knew. Realizing that sometimes the ground I stand on isn't as firm as I thought it was. Discovering that things are in a constant state of change - fast or slow it's always there. Learning that worrying and 'what ifs' have dictated my life for too long - as has living in the past while trying to control the future.

I feel I'm walking into this new year with a better perspective on things. Certainly feeling like I'm in a better head space than I've been in for the bulk of this year - therapy helps with that. Some new changes for the new year are already under way - new roommate and a new relationship which is entirely new territory for me on so many levels. I see 27 as my year for exploration. A year to do my best at letting go of expectations and appreciate things for how they really are and not how I want them to be.

Oh and in following a tradition I started last year, I've made a birthday mix to commemorate the experiences I've had in the previous year. All the songs reflect in some small way the events of my 26th year on this planet. The first track, Rilo Kiley's "Better Son/Daughter" ( lyrics ) probably best summarizes my year on the whole. It starts on pretty melancholy, but ends on an uplifting note - just like this past year......

Tracklisting:

01. Rilo Kiley – A Better Son/Daughter
02. Jem – Save Me
03. Anna Nalick – Consider This
04. Tegan and Sara – I Hear Noises
05. Leona Naess – All I Want
06. Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins – You Are What You Love
07. Dolly Parton – Both Sides Now
08. Martha Wainwright – When The Day Is Short
09. Neko Case – Hold On, Hold On
10. Nina Simone – Save Me
11. Peaches – Fuck or Kill
12. The Decemberists – 16 Military Wives
13. Alison Krauss – My Poor Old Heart
14. Sarah McLachlan – Dear God
15. Hard-Fi – Help Me Please
16. Aimee Mann – It's Not
17. Feist (with Broken Social Scene) – Intuition
18. Tegan and Sara – This is Everything
19. Gemma Hayes – Work To A Calm
20. The Concretes – You Can't Hurry Love
21. Rilo Kiley – More Adventurous
22. Damien Rice – Cannonball