Today, January 29, 2013 is my thirty-first birthday. It is exactly one decade since I turned 21, which is mostly a date on paper. In that past decade, I’ve seen some of the most troubling and exciting times in my life, and most of the experiences that have created my modern self have occurred in those ten years.

People say the teenage years are more important then the years in one’s early 20s. I don’t know. Graduating from college then starting work at my employer of almost 7 years now, had a vastly bigger impact on my life then anything I learned or didn’t learn in High School. I almost feel like those earlier 10 years were consequential compared to the past ten.

I was digging through the deep archives, trying to find interesting old essays to repost in celebration of my 31st birthday. But I really couldn’t find much that I could agree with or represent my viewpoint on the world, which has evolved greatly over the decade.

Thirty one, for all it’s indignities of life, really is a good life, with most of the rewards of living and working a good middle class life. I can afford most of the toys I want, if I am so inclined. I can travel when I want and can get away from work. It really is kind of nice being 31.