On Monday I celebrated my 31st birthday. I can't believe I've been alive for that long, it seems like the blink of an eye. In our traditional class, I'm the second oldest member but I rarely feel old. In fact, in a lot of ways, I feel like I'm getting younger and younger the longer I stay here. I'm sure I look older (especially with all the sun exposure we get) but I've gotten so much stronger, healthier, and more flexible that physically I feel younger than I did when I came here. Slowly old injuries are being healed and I feel vitality in a way I'd never experienced before. Don't get me wrong, I still get really tired sometimes and wonder if I can even go on, but the good days are starting to feel pretty amazing.

Friends my age at home are settling (or already settled) down. Buying houses, getting married, getting divorced, having kids, well into their career paths. I'm here with no stuff at all, with people a decade or more younger than me, just completely focused on myself and kung fu. I sometimes feel as if I should want more.....but I don't. I know that I'm in exactly the right place for me right now. Sometimes I want to leave but I know that dissatisfaction is a part of the process. Being here is very challenging but I know it's what I need to become the Brandi I was meant to be.

So I'm getting older.....and feeling more and more confident about my choices in life. What more could one ask for?