I'm 30 years old today. And what have I learned? Here are thirty random things:

1.) You can't make new old friends.
2.) You can make best friends at any time of your life.
3.) No best friend can replace your sister.
4.) If you make the choice to feel good in the long run rather than the choice to feel good in the moment, you will rarely regret it.
5.) Regrets are for suckers.
6.) Everyone judges books by their covers.
7.) Covers featuring brides, dogs, and/or Nazi symbolism sell. Especially brides on a beach. With a dog! And a Luftwaffe strike in the background!
8.) Write the book that makes you happy to sit down at the computer ever day.
9.) Ignore trends. By the time you're aware of them, they're probably almost over anyway.
10.) It's better to focus on people's good qualities than on their flaws.
11.) There are people who think toilet paper should always be oriented with the end of the roll at the back, and people who think it should always be at the front. No one thinks it doesn't matter.
12.) I am an omnivore, meant to eat meat, vegetables and grains. Eliminating any of those makes me feel crappy.
13.) The Ramones are the best band in the history of the world.
14.) But the Sex Pistols could totally take them in a fight.
15.) There's no thrill on earth like holding your first book in your hands, all shiny and new. Unless it's seeing it on a shelf in a bookstore. Or in someone ELSE's hands, and they're reading it!
16.) Readers are awesome.
17.) If you taste what you're cooking and think it needs something, try adding acid (like lemon juice) before you add salt.
18.) Recipes, like love, should be shared rather than hoarded.
19.) There is no professional relationship more important in a writer's career than the one between author and agent.
20.) New technologies should be embraced, but not to the exclusion of the old ways.
21.) In general, inclusivity is better than exclusivity.
22.) As of this moment, I'd rather live under the rule of law in Iowa than California or Maine.
23.) Everyone has a mission--if there's something you feel compelled to stand up for, no matter what, that's it for you.
24.) Anticipation is half the pleasure.
25.) You can never have too many books.
26.) If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write.
27.) The best way to be happy is to act happy--the very act of smiling triggers the feeling itself.
28.) Perseverance actually does pay off.
29.) My husband is the smartest, funniest, sweetest man alive.
30.) I'm one of the luckiest women ever to walk the earth.

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 3:34 PM  

Labels: birthday