Happy new year, everybody! Can you believe that it’s 2024 already? The past couple of years have been mostly a blur due to the pandemic, and I can’t wait to fully participate in life again.
I still can’t believe that I’m turning 30 this year. To be honest, I still feel like I’m 23 or 24, due to the 30% developmental delay that I have as an AuDHDer. While it can be frustrating and disabling, I sometimes jokingly use that factoid as an explanation for my youthful looks and aura. “You’re turning 30? It’s not obvious,” is a compliment that I get from co-workers, friends, and mutuals online whenever I share my government age.
As I enter a new decade in my life, I’m bringing with me a lot of realizations and discoveries from my twenties, both profound and random ones. Here are some of them:
I love writing, but I don’t have to give the same level of effort when I write for pleasure compared to writing for work. I’m grateful to be doing what I love. However, I find it extremely difficult to manage the effort that I’m giving towards my work projects compared to my personal newsletter entries. To address this issue, I allow myself to take breaks from writing outside of work, or I limit my entries here…or I accept that there will be good writing days where I post multiple updates here at a time. What I’m saying now is a far cry from my frustrations with posting. This is my little corner of the internet, and I’m allowed to tend to it to the best of my abilities, and not by following “the norm.”
I think I need to embrace my fun, dogshow side. My funny, dogshow side is heavily informed by three things: memes, social media, and my lived experiences as a neurodivergent girl. I need to lean into that more so I can enjoy again the things that I’m doing in my day-to-day life. My true personality is not reflected in my writing, and I want my voice to shine through more.
Work is something, but not everything. I used to think that being A Writer and Being a Go-Getter Girl Boss were the only things that will make me interesting. After all, work used to occupy 90-95% of my life. Now, I’m finding the balance between work and life. And that work doesn’t dictate my self-worth. I’m still the awesome, fun, and interesting Lea without the work accolades.
Turning thirty feels scary, but I’m here for the ride. After all, I want my 2024 to be my season of fun and creativity. I want to enjoy the things that I’m doing, so I can thrive in life. Enjoying also means having the kindness to show up imperfectly too.
Anyway, I hope 2024 is kinder to you too.
Until the next brain dump,
Lea