Today I turn 30. I find myself in a place I didn’t dream of when I was 20. I live in a world I couldn’t have imagined when I was 10.

I’m in the throes of my first year of medical school. A whirlwind of biochemistry, anatomy, patient evaluation techniques, nerd jokes, and discussions of ethics and why access to health care is a right. But, that’s not all. This morning, I woke to the smell of cinnamon rolls and a bouquet of flowers. Since August, I didn’t just fall down the rabbit hole of medicine, but I might have fallen in love.

October last year, the last October of my 20s, I was forging through medical school applications. Diving into interviews. Wondering if any school would take me. If I was good enough. If I was going to ever be a doctor. I think the feelings I had while applying to medical school aptly summarize my 20s. The 10 years between 19 and 30, I spent self-doubting, reflecting, and growing. The doubt is largely gone now—for that, I’m stoked. My personality won’t allow me to stop reflecting and attempting to be a better, even as I race toward being old, and I think that’s good.

This October comes with its own challenges and misgivings, but there is something surprisingly settling about 30. It helps that a weight lifted when I started school. And though I spend hours daily learning 3-4 letter acronyms that stand for proteins that stand for whole signaling pathways that keep you alive when they work and make you sick when they go wrong, I’m happy underneath it all. I’m happy because I’m exactly where I hoped I would be last year. I’m happy because where I am feels right. It is not often that life follows the course of my plan, so this birthday I’d like to take a moment to celebrate just being here.

Today, I’m grateful for all the people who make me feel loved. I’m grateful for the friends who are there when I need them and who share my joyous moments, who share my love for jokes only a health science dweeb can begin to find funny, and who listen patiently to the latest episode in the chronicles of kombucha making. I’m grateful for the people who have supported me, helped me learn, and pushed me to think differently and be better.

With the joy of being here in mind, bring it on 30. I’m ready for a new decade.