Beau Turns 30! Setting Intentions & Looking Back.
Well shit! I’m 30!
I’ve been 30 ~ on the inside ~ since I was a little boy (AKA I was a depressed child), so finally having my biological age match my mental age is kind of euphoric.
And while I’m a little sad that big accomplishments from now on will be less impressive given that I’m now like indisputably and undeniably very very firmly an adult, I’m feeling very proud of what my twenties brought me. Meeting the love of my life, creating a little family, fostering an extremely tight knit circle of close friends who I can rely on, starting my own business and writing a book, venturing into home ownership, and exploring different corners of the world… I couldn’t really have asked for a more fulfilling decade of life. I started looking through photos to remind myself of what the last 10 years have looked like, and I’ve gotten all emotional remembering the big moments and adventures and friends I’ve made.
A lot of my successes in the past decade have come about from chasing The Next Big Thing, and I think for a lot of people, the first decade of adulthood feels kind of like a rat race—trying to get as far ahead as possible to have your life set up how you want it. I want my 30s to be an exploration in being ecstatic for what’s in front of me, for what’s already here. I want to learn how to be motivated by contentment, not angst or desire or unhinged excitement.
I don’t have some inspiring list of things I’ve learned in the past so many years, but I did think it would be a fun exercise to list a favorite thing from each year of my 20s. Hopefully I’ll be able to look back fondly on this post in 10 years and have it jog my memory and gratitude for a decade well lived. I hope you enjoy it!
Favorite Moments Through The Decade: My 20s
Age 20 | Starting my relationship with Matt. Technically we met when I was 19, but it wasn’t until March 9th of 2013, just two days into my 20th year of life, that we became “official.” The truth is this isn’t just the highlight of being 20, it’s the highlight of my life so far, because I’ve gotten to spend every day with the man I love, and it changed everything in every year that follows.
Age 21 | The creation of Probably This!!! The blog’s early years were a bit chaotic with no real schedule or plan. It was fun. Our following was small but mighty. We had no clear direction but we were driving full speed ahead! I still can’t place what motivated me to be so consistent with what back then was just a hobby, but I’m so incredibly grateful to 21-year-old me for doing so.
Age 22 | Adopting Fox! I had no intentions of adopting a dog—not one. I was working a photography job at an art gallery where the owner fostered dogs. Little Fox was just sitting beneath a chair peeking out at me and I fell so deeply in love right then and there. Matt was game, and after a weekend test run, we knew our home was his home.
Age 23 | I’m not gonna lie, 23 was a hard year for me. The blog hadn’t started producing enough income for financial stability, and I was working odd jobs and had a really unclear idea of what I wanted to do with my life. College was becoming a distant memory, and I felt the most lost I ever have. It was the beginning of my real struggle with anxiety. Looking back, I’m grateful for this year, even given how much it sucked and how filled with despair I was. It was a turning point in my life, one that took my and Matt’s relationship to the next level and motivated me to give my career a jumpstart. It was a year where I learned the meaning of unconditional love, because Matt was there supporting me through the “thin” part of thick and thin.
Age 24 | Buying and Renovating Rosie The Trailer! I had to triple-confirm the dates for this… in my memory I was, like, 27 when we bought Rosie and started our long road trips with her… but… nope. I was 24. That feels so young? After three months of renovating the old girl, we took her on our inaugural road trip to Franklin, North Carolina, the same trip where we first went to Cleveland, Tennessee, and met our friends PJ & Thomas, which ultimately, five years later, led to us buying a home in East Tennessee. Life altering event, really!
Age 25 | Settling down. When I was 25, we signed a lease on a little apartment near my mom and aunt in sleepy Covington, Louisiana, which is about an hour outside of New Orleans. After years of adventure and hectic happenings, I needed so badly to just chill and learn routine. This new location in a quiet part of the state allowed for that, and it gave me so much clarity on what I wanted my future to look like. Our days were structured. Wellness and fitness were prioritized, and we finally started saving to buy a home.
Age 26 | Euro-trip!! Matt and I spent three weeks traveling through Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest for our first time ever in Europe. We had very few expectations and really just let ourselves soak it all up. I learned that I actually maybe like beer a little and also that a big bowl of mystery meat is sometimes delicious!
Age 27 | Buying #ProbablyThisHome (our first home)! After years of dreaming and saving we were able to buy our first home, a quaint fixer-upper double shotgun in a historic New Orleans neighborhood. We bought at the very beginning of the pandemic and lucked out with a 2.75% interest rate which I am forever grateful for. This home has become the canvas for our best work and a real bounty for us creatively.
Age 28 | Adopting Barley & Rye! These two kittens came into the family hard and fast, stealing our hearts and giving us two more furry little babies to spoil. They bring us joy every morning when they crawl into bed to knead dough on our arms and legs, and every night when they cuddle up with us to watch tv or a movie. I love my boys.
Age 29 | This was the best year of my life so far, by far. I could write for pages about 29… but I’ll give you the Cliffs Notes. We published Housewarming and got to do TV appearances for it and a book tour and be on a billboard in New York City(!!!). We bought our Tennessee home that has become my sanctuary. We brought our moms on a week-long trip to Paris for their first time out of the country. We got married at our home in the crisp fall weather of East Tennessee surrounded by 50 of our closest family and friends. I’m still processing what the past year has been like for me, because I know it’s special and not to be taken for granted.
I’m so grateful for what my 20s brought me, and I’m so excited for what my 30s will bring me, and I’m so content with what my life looks like right now. I had to do some digging through old photos for today’s blog post, and I couldn’t believe that almost the entire past decade has been documented online, with the blog starting when I was 21. I know there are very few people who’ve been reading since the beginning, but I just wanted to say thank you to anyone who’s followed along at any point, here or on social media. Having this creative outlet for a career has been a highlight of my life, and I couldn’t ask for a better community to share it with.
So, uh, happy birthday to me!
Love,
Beau