OFFICIALLY THIRTY AND THRIVING!!

THE BIG 3 0, it came! I am now almost a week into turning 30, and WOW, just wow. I have to say, it was truly the most beautiful way to start the 30's era! I also have to say already that I LOVE BEING IN MY 30'S! I'm sure you're wondering, "Nat, what did you do for your birthday?!" Wellll, let me tell you!

On the Friday before, two of my loving friends took me to get my first massage done, which was truly an experience! It was so cool cause we ended up doing a package deal where we got a body scrub, Swedish massage, and a facial! I understand the hype of getting massages now. There was also a bunch of saunas we got to experience as well as pools, definitely recommend King Spa in NOVA! Later that evening, we dined at Hell's Kitchen, which was so surreal watching the show growing up and being there enjoying a wonderful meal! It was truly just a gift being able to spend time with both of them and building our friendship on a deeper level: the true gift from them was their love and friendship, thank you God!

On Saturday the day of my birthday, the original plan I was told (LOL) was that I was going to get dinner with two of my best friends! I had tried for weeks to plan a girl night with a majority of my girls, but it kept seeming like it wouldn't work out! It's a funny story with that as well, just know God has a plan always, always, always! The plan was to go to Maggiano's for dinner, and come back to my best friend Ariel's place for game night! Well, when I got to Ariel's place and walked in, I got so surprised with a surprise birthday party 2,000's themed! (Fun fact: I had always talked about wanting to throw a 2,000's themed party when I turned 30!) They got me so so so good, literally had no clue or hint whatsoever! Everyone did such a good job, not only not giving me any hints lol but the decorations, the food, the games, just the time spent together. Literally could not have planned anything better, even when I tried LOL. I also received two of the most beautiful gifts I could have ever received: one was a handmade quilt with positive affirmations backed up with scriptures, so beautiful! The biggest gift from this evening is so special to me, truly my favorite, favorite gift: Ariel had reached out to a majority of my friends and family to have them made a video of them sharing a favorite memory or something they love about me and compiled a whole 21 minute video of all the videos together. I CRIED LIKE A BABY. As someone who one of her top love languages is Words of Affirmation, I've genuinely watched that video since my birthday AT LEAST 5 times a day!

Truly, this birthday has been the best one yet, and it was the best way to start the 30's in my humble opinion! Now, the biggest question I've been getting asked is: what are you looking forward to in your 30's?! I'm finally ready to answer that question, BUT before I do, I have one last thing to say to my 20's, in true Nat form!

To my 20's, we were a HOT MESS! I don't mean like a cute hot mess lol I mean an UGLY hot mess! HOWEVER, we learned a lot, we grown a lot, we healed quite a bit, we forgave a lot, we loved a lot. We did so much, we took risks and chances, we got our heart broken quite a few times, we rededicated our life to God and found the love of Jesus, we developed that relationship with the Lord. We lost friendships and relationships, we gained the right people, the right friends, every single person has taught me a lesson, and that is something I'm forever grateful for. Regardless of all the mistakes I made, I'm thankful for my 20's, I wouldn't be who I am without it!

Now, what am I looking forward to in my 30's? I attended a leadership conference almost 2 weekends ago, and one of the speakers told us her word for 2024, which is very fitting not just for this year for me, but for my 30's. You ready for it? The word is: MORE.

I'm looking forward to MORE:

MORE love

MORE peace

MORE joy

MORE yummy foods

MORE laughter

MORE health

MORE fun

MORE healing

MORE opportunities

MORE success

MORE accomplishments

MORE winning

MORE friendships

MORE impacting the world

MORE deeper relationships

MORE adventures

MORE making a difference

MORE putting myself back out there

MORE experiences

MORE blessing others

MORE traveling

MORE believing in myself

MORE taking risks

MORE boldness

MORE learning

MORE growing

MORE knowing who and WHOSE I am

MORE being confident

MORE not holding myself back

MORE lessons

MORE discovering myself

MORE freedom in every aspect, etc

and the biggest thing I'm looking forward to, is MORE GOD.

MORE trusting God

MORE seeing God in everything

MORE letting God lead me

MORE believing what God's Word says

MORE letting go and letting God

MORE winning to give all the honor and glory to God

MORE fulfilling the calling God has for my life

I just know there's so much more in my 30's, and I'm so excited and ready for it! So to every single person who made this birthday the best one ever, thank you so much. To everyone in my video speaking love over me, thank you so much. To the masterminds behind my birthday plans(Abby, Lala, Ariel, and Ellise), thank you so so much. To my friends and family, thank you for loving me. And the biggest thank you is to God, I'm excited to see the plan You have in this era!! So here's to my 30's, where there will be so much MORE!