“I was certain that on the day that I turned 30 all of the questions I’d ever had in life would be answered…”

By Sky Sterling

I was certain that on the day that I turned 30 all of the questions I’d ever had in life would be answered; That I’d open my eyes the morning of my birthday knowing exactly what I was supposed to do with my life, and more importantly, how to do it. Nope. Other than figuring out how to deal with the worst hangover I’d ever had, I was not any more insightful than the night before.

The one thing I realize the morning of December 24th, 2011 is that it had been a full year since I had spoken to my mom. We’d had an argument on my birthday the year before, and I couldn’t tell you what the fight was about because I don’t remember, but both of us being the head strong women that we are, neither had reached out to the other in over a year. A lot can happen in a year.

Leading up to my 30th birthday, I decided to completely change career paths and move to a new city; A difficult decision in and of itself, much more strenuous without the support of family members. And for me “family” consists of mom. My dad passed away when I was 13 and the rest of my relatives live in the Dominican Republic.

I’m not sure if it was the milestone birthday that drove my mom to call me that morning, or if she just wanted to end the silence, but hearing her voice, along with the emotions that come along with catching up on a year’s worth of living, made me realize that the woman I’d argued with for years, the woman whom I thought I had nothing in common with, is actually an older, wiser, more jaded version of me.