As I prepare to leave my twenties I am now filled with peace. For a while I struggled with society’s expectations of turning 30. Far too many times, I have heard the expectation that by 30 you should be married, well established in a career, or have a child (or two). As I turn 30, this is not my reality and struggled with it. I realized I was robbing myself of my own happiness because of the expectations around me.
A few months ago, I was talking to my mom and I asked her “mom, are you proud of me? I am not married yet and I know you want me to be”. She told me “Natalie I had you in my 40’s. I am the oldest of 3 sisters but I gave birth to you at a later age compared to my sisters”. She affirmed me with her words and reminded me that just because she achieved something at a later point in life, it does not make her life less significant than those around her. She still went through the process of giving birth (like everyone else around her) but at a different time. In her nature of being a woman of few words, she simply said: “Natalie you have to trust your process and God’s timing”.
I found my purpose at 29 and I am getting ready to thrive in my 30’s! As I release Noble Magazine, I want my mother’s words to be released with it. I want to encourage and remind you all that your process is uniquely yours. It won’t always be the prettiest, and some people will think you are crazy for pursing a dream they do not understand, but don’t give up. Trust your process and the timing in which it all happens.
Michelle Obama said in Becoming: “For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”