As I am going through my early thirties, at what can sometimes feel like lightning speed, I have occasionally found myself being struck by those familiar early thirties panics: Am I too far behind everyone else career-wise? Am I supposed to be a homeowner by now? Should I be having a baby… yesterday?!

These panics don't come as often nowadays as they have in the past, but sometimes they pop up like the car tax reminder letter I received today, unwelcome and annoying.

When I dig below the overarching question of "am I behind?", the answer is never "yes". The answer is that I am just on a different path, my own path, and I guess that is why it sometimes feels so uncertain, because it hasn't been walked before.