Thirty Days of Thankful - Day 17 - Aging Gracefully

Note: Today is day 17 in my series "30 Days of Thankful."

Do you ever look back at photos of yourself from the past and cringe? I know plenty of people who would love go to back to their college years or early 20's. But not me! I am perfectly happy with being 31. And because of that, for today, I am thankful for aging gracefully.



Somewhere around 2002

 I was kind of a mess in my early 20's. I was out of shape, my hair was terrible, my skin was equally bad, and I intermittently had a unibrow. All I wanted to be was a size zero girl with perfectly straight hair and a perfectly perfect life. I felt so uncomfortable in my own skin. But maybe that's what your 20's are all about. Figuring out who you are and where you'd like to be in life.

Up until recently, I've said that my 30's have been the best years of my life. And I'm sure in time I'll feel that way again. I have a job I love. I make more than enough money to survive on my own without struggling. My hair is still a mess but I've embraced that crazy, big hair is kind of my thing. I'm no size zero, but running has allowed me to be in the best shape of my life. I look in the mirror and like what I see. I've learned to love myself which is really important. Roxanne today is a prettier and better person than she was 10 years ago. And despite this little sad slump I'm having, I'm sure that overall, I'll be happier as the years go on and I get to know myself even better and feel even more confident about who I am and where I'm going. And I hope to look back 10 years from now and like what I see in the mirror then even more than the me I see now. Even if she is a little older and has a little more grey hair.