Birthdays in your thirties are weird. I don’t know if it’s just me, but these first two so far have sparked a lot of self-reflection. These past few weeks, I’ve found myself replaying memories of this year in my mind as I do The Office reruns on my ancient DVD player (full disclosure: I could watch that show every day and not get tired of it). Unfortunately, I’ve thought a lot about the tough times, too – I can’t exactly skip over those like I can the crappy episodes. This time in 2017, I started my first Administrator job at a company that was pennies away from bankruptcy. To say that 30 was stressful would be an understatement. Not surprisingly, however, my residents have really changed my perspective on the entire experience.

I had the pleasure of filming some of my Veterans for a luncheon we hosted a few weeks ago. The below video highlights some of what was said, though it doesn’t do our “interviews” justice. One thing I mention they’ve taught us is positivity. My year may have been difficult, but it wasn’t a war. I wasn’t drafted to go to battle, nor was I pulled from my family or my home. Despite the incredible challenges they faced, every single one of them highlighted their silver lining; I hadn’t even prompted them for it, either.

What a way to bring me back to Earth. My loves continue to inspire and teach me every single day, and I’m constantly in awe of their strength and perseverance. We talked about the tough times during our sit-downs, but we didn’t dwell on them. We noted the positive and moved on. I can’t promise I won’t skip over some reruns, but I’ll definitely follow their example as I tackle 31.