The combination of a new Taylor Swift album and it being the week of my birthday has me feeling rather emotional. But as I approach my 31st birthday, I’ve been thinking a lot about each decade and the lessons that came with them. 31 feels so funny to be because it’s the inverse of 13 — and in so many ways, it does truly feel so opposite. At 13, I felt so unsure, so uncomfortable, so insecure, and hyperaware. As I tiptoe closer to 31, those feelings haven’t evaporated completely, but I feel more steady, more determined, more self-assured. I feel more confident to step away from what doesn’t feel right and towards that life I envisioned at 13 or 23 or this morning. And so often, bounding fearlessly toward that life has come with the reckless abandon of putting yourself out there, of letting the internet or whoever has decided to be the arbiter of cool that day, deem you cringe, or weird, or a try-hard, or ‘millennial’. It’s the feeling of instantly being transported back to high scho...