List #152: What All Women Should Have by 30 and a Half

This list was popular some time ago on the Internet. It's one of those almost-fluff, almost-life-altering pieces of advice that you could have sworn was being circulated as an email chain letter circa 2002. And one of those pieces you wish you'd written yourself.

But since I'm already 30 and feel that I've learned so much just in the past year. And because I feel like I have so much to achieve from here on out. I'm bending the rules and give us more time to have and learn these things. And hell, if it takes me longer than 30 and a 1/2 that's fine too. Age ain't nothing but a number, right?

So, here's my own spin on what I think everyone woman should have or have learned.

By 30 and a 1/2 you should...

1. Mourn the loss the of friendships and understand that not everyone is meant to be your life forever.
2. Be proud of your education. No matter how long it took, no matter where you went, or what you're doing with it today.
3. Hug your parents as often as you can. They gave you hugs, now give them back.
4. Have friends in different time zones. So that you can always have a place to visit and always have a friend who won't be sleeping when you need someone to talk to late at night.
5. Make out on a street corner late at night and still go home to your own bed.
6. Still own relic from your childhood: a teddy bear, a blanket, a tshirt. Just something to hold on to.
7. Have 3 songs that cast you back in time and bring emotions to height of memory: one that reminds you of laughter, dancing and friends. Another that brings you to tears, even after all these years. And a final one that reminds you of a time you were loved fully.
8. Not put up with anyone who doesn't value you, your time, your health, your mind, your heart.
9. Know when it's more important to put off laundry and dishes and soak in the tub for hours with a good book and a glass of wine.
10. Push yourself to the next challenge, despite all the butterflies in your stomach, and your logic arguing back.
11. Believe in second chances. And third chances. But not enough chances that just keep hurting.
12. Have friends that treat you like family. And then look after those friends as if they really were your blood.
13. Wake up with a few well-worth it headaches on Sunday mornings. Just every once in a while to remind yourself that it's okay to let loose. And that you've still got it.
14. Wear whatever makes you feel fucking sexy.
15. Treat yourself. At least once a month to something you want because you can't take it with you.
16. Know a few good stories to tell at parties. But that you don't tell just anyone.
17. Understand how to cry yourself to sleep at night but then pull yourself together in the morning to work hard and push ahead.
18. Collect a few ex-boyfriends who, when you think about, really make you laugh. No one will ever really understand what you were thinking at 17, 22 or even 26, 27, 28...including you.
19. Know how to cook one thing really well for dinner parties. Or just know how to bring napkins and wine without dropping the ball.
20. Have a place in this world that isn't your home but feels more like home than any other place on the planet. Go there. But not often enough that it looses its luster.
21. Own one really sexy pair of shoes that imply just exactly what you want them to imply. 
22. Own one really good purse. That is unique and not a carbon-copy of every purse on the shoulder of every woman in America.
23. Wake up doing something you know in your heart that you're suppose to be doing. Or at least, wake up with the determination to reach that goal.
24. Possess more than one favorite book.
25. Wear a shade of lipstick that changes your life.
26. Truly appreciate going to bed alone. In a bed that's all yours. That you made in the morning.
27. Try hard not to measure yourself against your peers. There will be good years and bad years.
28. Know exactly what you'd want to say to that ex-boyfriend, ex-boss, ex-friend if you ever saw them again. And hope that you never see them again.
29. Appreciate the subtle ways karma can show up on your doorstep. And pay it back in spades.
30. Wonder what tomorrow is going to bring. But try not give yourself ulcers.
31. Not be afraid to voice your opinions. Go out on the line and be woman with a powerful voice, the one who may be called names, the one who may seem a bit crazy. But do it with gusto and purpose.

So dear readers, what do you think you should know or have before "30 and a 1/2"? Guys, your opinion is wanted as well.