on why I love being in my mid to late thirties

i no longer concern myself with gossip

that doesn't mean I'm not a rapt audience

i can separate the love of fashion and owning things deemed fashionable

i care little about the whatever du jour

i can use the word film without the rolling of eyes and the clicking of tongues

i have forgotten all wrongs committed against me during my earlier years

okay, most wrongs

i am happy with my hair color and texture for that matter

i don't care about smart

but I do care about funny

humor without kindness no longer amuses me, and I have no problem saying so

i can be a student with the experience of a teacher

i can look upon the cute, slightly moody, pseudo intellectual twenty something with amusement rather than annoyance

cuz that use to be me

i don't bother with small talk

not that i ever did

my aloofness has been replaced with an older more comfortable if not extremely chummy self

i only say sorry when i am

i know myself...

but not enough to stop exploring

i feel ready to take on the big things

ready to once again immerse myself in research and utilize my education

ready to put pen to paper or finger to keypad and see what things come