Edit 23: Through the Lens
Buckle up for many a camera pun while I wax about the day I was born.
Birthdays have a way of sharpening your focus.
Not in the dramatic, make-a-wish, reinvent-your-life sense—but in a subtle way where you begin to notice what’s been framing your days. What you linger on…what you let blur…what you instinctively move closer to without thinking.
This year, I’ve noticed it most through the lens.
I see how I’ve stopped rushing to capture every single thing and started paying attention to what feels worth keeping. How I’m less interested in having things look ‘right’ and more drawn to what feels real: the crooked smile, the half-lit room, the moment just before laughter spills over. These are moments that don’t beg for attention—they reward it.
There was a time when birthdays felt like checkpoints or some kind of show of progress. Now, they feel more like a pause—an invitation to look around and breathe it in.
This is where I am. And you know what? I really like the view.
Through the lens, I see a woman who knows what she enjoys and no longer apologizes for it. Who understands that refinement isn’t about having more—it’s about choosing better. I appreciate a good bubble bath and even better boundaries. Champagne and early nights. Sparkle and softness, often in the same day.
I see the comfort that comes from familiarity—places that know my order, people who know my heart, rituals that anchor me when the world feels loud. I see how much joy lives in the ordinary when you stop overlooking it: morning coffee, a favorite song, the luxury of being unhurried.
I also see what I’ve let go of.
The need to explain myself. The pressure to be palatable. The habit of shrinking joy so it doesn’t make anyone else uncomfortable. These days, if something delights me, I let it. If something drains me, I leave it behind.
Age has given me perspective, sure, but more than that, it’s given me the clarity to cut through the B.S..
Through the lens, I notice how deeply I value connection—real, layered, meaningful connection. The kind built over time through shared history and mutual understanding. I see how I protect my peace now—presence over performance and what’s real over what’s just a show.
I also see how much fun I still intend to have!
Reflection and celebration can sit at the same table, and growing doesn’t mean you have to give up the fun. There is always room for laughter, for indulgence, and for—my personal favorite—shenanigans. There is space for dressing up just because and marking another year with gratitude, sparkles, and cake.
Especially cake.
This birthday isn’t about celebrating someone new. It’s about honoring who I already am, and doing so through a lens that’s been quietly adjusting all along: Softer where it matters, sharper where it counts, focused on what feels true.
And as I look ahead, I don’t feel behind or ahead of anything.
I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be—illuminated, loved, and—if you’ll excuse my final camera pun—fully in frame.
Cheers to that, and Happy Birthday to me. 🥂
