In late April, I turned 30. I wasn’t really freaked out by the round number heading into my birthday (I’m way more freaked out that my itty bitty baby girl is going to be 1 soon). I just didn’t think much about it.

Something odd has happened though. Starting just a few days after my birthday, I all of a sudden just no longer cared what anybody thinks.

I’m like Nicki MInaj in that weird radio hit I don’t really understand:

Here’s a few things I’ve done since turning 30 that I swear I never would have done at 29…

• Started my own blog
• Starting writing for Northeast Ohio Parent Magazine
• Took up a new athletic hobby (swimming)
• Wore my glasses in public after contracting pink eye
• Gone to work with no makeup on after freaking out that I recontracted pink eye and throwing out all my makeup (but I think it was really allergies)

None of these might seem like life-changing actions…but they reflect a new, more confident me that I can only chalk up to escaping my twenties.

I think it’s part of the wisdom that comes with age. It also probably has something to do with becoming more and more settled into my role as a mom every day. Obviously I’ve been a mom for 11 months and counting now, but the more my kid starts to absorb and learn about the world (she’s like a sponge these days), the more I am 100 percent committed to making sure she remains fearless and brave for as long as possible – and the only way I know how to do that is to show her that I am, too.

At 30, a flip switched completely though. What it comes down to is that getting older is far more liberating than I would have expected. On my birthday, I said I’d rather be 30 than 20 again, and that is still sooo true.

And I expect it to keep getting better.

By staying true to myself, going after what I want, and making sure my little family comes first, I plan to be able to say at 40 that I’d rather be 40 than 30 again.