Today is my 36th Birthday!

There, I've said it. Publicly. Such a big deal is made of age in the entertainment industry, and we are all supposed to keep our age a secret. No, I don't want people to NOT hire me because I am a different age than they think I am and they are too short-sighted to see that any actor or actress worth the title is capable of playing an age range. No, I definitely don't want that. BUT, I don't like feeling like I can't tell the truth because someone else might have issues with it. So, I'm 36, and I feels great. I had a physical on Monday, got the results yesterday and I'm in really good health. I had an audition for American Express today, so I got all made-up and dressed up a little bit, looked in the mirror and felt good about what I saw. I didn't think "I look good for 36," I thought "so THIS is what 36 looks like!" To quote Maya Angelou "To deny your age is to deny that you have survived." I agree.

I know some people who say that their birthday is "just another day." Not me. My birthday is MY day, and it's all about ME! When I woke up this morning, I stayed in bed just thinking. Thinking about life in general, and taking stock of my life in particular. How does the "me" of today compare to the "me" of a year ago? Have I grown or have I gone backward? Am I happy? Do I like who I am? Have I met my goals? Have my goals changed? What do I want for myself in the next year?

I'm still formulating responses (for myself) to some of these questions, but on the whole, life has been good. Not perfect, but what is?

So today has largely been one of reflection. I've done a lot of thinking, talking to friends and loved ones who've called to wish me a happy birthday, some gardening, some housecleaning, and some daydreaming.

I'll talk more in upcoming posts about some plans that I am formulating in my head. Just wanted to share my birthday with y'all. ;o)

Talk soon.

--Nicole