When I first watched "13 going on 30" back in 2004, I sat there, hair full of butterfly clips, and knew:

"That's who I want to be."

Sparkling, confident, unstoppable.

To me, thirty seemed like magic, like life finally knew your name and had a coffee waiting for you.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and here I am at 34.

And it’s all there:

The satin robes, the high heels, and most importantly:

The wisdom.

And guess what? It's even better than I imagined.

In your 30s, you finally, gloriously, stop caring what other people think.

Seriously. Wear the outfit. Say the thing. Post the picture.

Do whatever you please.

We've left the drama in the group chats we muted years ago.

We know that when someone constantly gossips about others, it reveals more about themselves than the people they’re talking about.

Us? We’re just too busy living our actual, juicy, gorgeous lives.

We've seen heartbreak, disappointment, plot twists - and yet, here we are:

More realistic and more positive, because we've learned that life always has another turn coming.

We've witnessed miracles on days we thought we'd never smile again.

That wisdom? It glows from the inside out.

And yes, this is actually our peak beauty time, my lovely 30-something ladies.

We know what flatters us (hello, high-waist jeans) and what doesn't.

Our intuition? Razor-sharp.

We can feel it in our bones whether someone is genuine, or just passing through.

We've learned the art of speaking up:

For ourselves, for others, and sometimes, for the awkward little girl inside of us, still finding her voice.

We get up, show up, and just do it, rain or shine, whether we feel like it or not.

There's a calm now that 20-year-old us just couldn't fake - the steady knowledge that we can survive, rebuild, and laugh about it later.

Boundaries? Set. Protected. Blessed and highly favored.

We know who we are. We stand firm, two feet planted right in the messy, breathtaking middle of life.

And most importantly? We're free.

And yet - somewhere between all this wisdom and wonder, while laughing at a silly joke or dancing in our kitchen:

We catch a glimpse, and for a second, we're 13 again.

Wide-eyed.

Full of dreams.

A little goofy.

A little fearless.

And that is the best part of all:

We grew up.

But we never lost her.

To the little girl still inside us - look how far you've come.

With love,

Disclaimer: Both of the photos from "13 going on 30" above were purchased via MovieStillsDB.com and are the courtesy of their respective owners.