Cheers to celebrating my birthday in Tokyo! This is 55.
The summer I turned 55…
Confession. The majority of the original list you’re about to read was written & published 5 years ago. The summer I turned 50. I figured since I had another major birthday I should update it so here you go. Everything in italics has been added/edited today.
55 Things I’ve Learned in 55 Years:
1. Being born healthy and loved is a great gift.
2. Being raised to be tough and independent has served me well.
3. Great books can change the world;
4. Beautiful writing can change the world for the better.
5. Conversations with my dad—especially throughout my childhood—made all the difference for me.
6. Moving, traveling and any kind of adventure makes me happy and fulfilled…
7. …so does being comfortable and relaxed at home.
8. A perfect flour tortilla, warm off the comal, is usually the start of an amazing meal.
9. Settling for less than one deserves will only get one less than they deserved before they started settling for less.
10. A big family teaches you a lot: good, bad & ugly—and all are valuable lessons.
11. A good omelet is a thing of beauty.
12. Being the new kid in class (I went to 12 different schools growing up) taught me how to introduce myself, meet people, and make friends.
13. Being short doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass.
14. Being an ass-kicker doesn’t mean I won’t also get my own ass kicked.
15. Nothing breaks my heart like sports.
16. Sports has also brought me lots of joy.
17. The older I get, good sleep is a fuel like no other when it comes to me feeling energized and at my best.
18. Education is only beneficial if it teaches someone how to think responsibly for themselves. (I am fortunate that I got this kind of education, both at school and from my parents.)
19. 55 years now, and inheriting my dad’s better-than-perfect pilot vision is still working for me. (I am still reading glasses free!)
20. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt is a wonderful way to treat a fellow human being…
21. …But remembering when and how one has been let down is a wonderful reminder when deciding whether or not to again give one the benefit of the doubt.
22. Choosing to not let people “rent space” in my head, heart or soul is the best thing I do for sustained happiness.
23. True love can be felt in my core.
24. People will let you down—doesn’t mean you have to be down, much less stay down.
25. For me, being stubborn is the only way to be truly happy as an individual.
26. They pretty much use the same scissors at both the expensive and the inexpensive hair salons (of course, I do have a pretty simple hairstyle, so there’s that.)
27. My dad taught me to never pass up a good adventure, because life is short—and he was right.
28. My Tia Ana taught me to never buy cheap, uncomfortable shoes, because life is long—and she was right.
29. I’m forever grateful that my parents allowed me—among other things—to get lost, to fall off my bike, to make mistakes, to lose, and to learn for myself that life can be tough, so I’ll need to be just as tough if not tougher.
30. Life is too short to not take advantage of learning as much as possible and then to take in all that knowledge for all you can get from it.
31. Life is too long to drink bad beer. Or bad wine.
32. Having a nice complexion, or neat handwriting won’t mean much when I’m dead…although I guess that is true for all of this.
33. For me, the best friends are the ones you have forever.
34. Worrying about things out of my control is a waste of time and opportunity.
35. Getting lost still means I went somewhere.
36. Sometimes winging it turns out better than what I planned.
37. Laughter and a natural smile are my favorite languages, and the best ones the world has to share.
38. Inconsiderate people show me just how unhappy they are.
39. Blaming a child for bad parenting is like blaming a restaurant server for a steak not being cooked properly – it’s not their fault; but eventually the child becomes an adult and can decide who they’ll be, and the server can get another job. Eventually, we’re all responsible for the choices we make.
40. Music is not always my jam, but literature most definitely is.
41. Group texts with my siblings (or conversations when we’re together) always make me laugh and are good for my psyche. (P.S. Tony, you’re crazy! LOL)
42. A king-sized bed is not too big.
43. No one will ever be as enthusiastic as I am about my life and my dreams, and that’s perfectly fine. I have learned to have enough enthusiasm for myself.
44. Nothing lasts forever, and no one lives forever, but that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy all I can for as long as I can.
45. The older I get and the more life I live, the more I’m certain that being a victim, a martyr or being afraid is not my idea of living life.
46. In 1978, I told my mom I wasn’t going to believe everything I read in the newspaper—boy, was I wise!
47. Choosing wisely in love is one of the best choices I’ve ever made.
48. Unless it’s overflowing out of the cup, I can’t have too much ice.
49. Great adventures, that include great food, and great experiences, make living my life worthwhile.
50. No matter what tonight or tomorrow brings, being truly alive in the moment I’m in, is always my goal.
51. Even if you end up losing a toenail, don’t give up. Getting to the top of the mountain is the only way you get to experience that view.
(The whole mountain, view from the top, losing a toenail thing? I mean that metaphorically and literally. I lost a toenail after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Worth it.)
52. You either believe in freedom, or you don’t.
53. Our bodies, with all of their imperfections and disappointments and genetics beyond our control, are amazing, strong, badass vessels. Learn to appreciate yours, I am finally getting there with my own.
54. Even when I fall on my ass, I end up making amazing friends and learning lessons that no act of staying upright can teach.
55. What you put out into the world, you really do get back sometimes and that’s a beautiful thing. Fortune favors the bold. XO
Definitely not an all-inclusive list of everything I’ve learned in the last five+ decades (I mean, I am a first class Martinez know-it-all, after all), but a bit of what I’m sharing with the world after this last birthday. Climbing 2020* and all that jazz.
Here’s to the next several years and lots more selfies of me in front of some kind of landmark or natural wonder.
(Hoping next year it’s that mountain I should be on right now…)**
*Climbing2020 was my theme in 2020 (And yes all my years have themes, silly)
**I did! I conquered Mount Kilimanjaro in July 2021, turning 51 on the mountain
