The big fat 3-0

I turned 30 yesterday! Woo hoo!

I’m big on birthday celebrations, be it mine or those of loved ones, but I’d been dreading this day for close to two years. It’s officially the end of your 20s – the decade where you can be irresponsible and you’ll most likely get away with it. The decade where you’ll be forgiven for your shenanigans and wrong decisions because hey, your brain is still developing. In fact, I read somewhere that the frontal lobe in a 20-something brain is still work-in-progress. And thats the part that’s in charge of ‘overriding emotion with reason’. So that means 20-somethings are more sensitive to criticism, more likely to take feedback personally, and magnify events out of proportion.

That explains a lot!

The 30s is intimidating. I mean, isn’t it considered middle age?

They say that what you do in your 20s will define the rest of your life. Have I done enough? Have I learnt enough and made the right choices? Have I exercised enough? Is it too late to start now? Have I picked the right career? Can I change my mind now? What are my hobbies? Am I good at anything?

{pic courtesy: www.davinsdreamteam.org}

While reality is daunting, it’s here. It’s happening now. And although there’s so much to be scared of, there’s heaps more to be grateful for. To wake up each morning with a clear mind and in good health. To have found the love of my life, my best friend, someone I can’t wait to grow old with. For my most loving and supportive family, the great bunch of friends I’ve made over the years, for the ability to use my mind and earn a living. And most importantly – for the food we have on the table each day.

Those of you who’ve been following my Facebook posts know that I wanted to celebrate this milestone by showing my gratitude to the world, and by making a little difference in any small way that I can. You’ve probably also heard me harp on about a cause I feel dearly about – which is that millions of people around the world don’t have food to eat. And that millions of kids don’t live to see their fifth birthday because they don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water.  

A lot of issues around the world can be resolved by beginning with access to clean water. If you think about the bigger picture – no water means you can’t grow food, you can’t bathe, which in turn cause illnesses, people get sick, kids don’t go to school, no education, and there you have a community caught in the vicious cycle of poverty.

An organisation that does phenomenal work in this area is charity: water. They don’t offer grand solutions and billion dollar schemes, just simple things that work like freshwater wells, rainwater catchments and sand filters in underdeveloped areas. I came across their ‘birthday initiative’ a year ago and I knew it was the right thing for me to do for my 30th.

With the help of generous donor family and friends, we’ve managed to raise a little over US$ 5,000 – all of which goes directly to fund water projects! This means that 143 people will get clean water – and we’ve hopefully helped that many people get out of the poverty cycle (or at least not go thirsty!).

Since Namrata and I started this blog and have kept our Instagram followers updated with the most mouthwatering photos of cakes, chocolate, coffee and the like, all of it seems vain and pointless when you think about the millions of people who don’t get one square meal a day.

Water is fundamental to relieving hunger, and as fellow foodies, it’d make me extremely happy if you’d consider doing your own fundraising for a charity of your choice, or if you’d like to contribute to mine – OR if you simply just think about minimizing food wastage, both at home and when dining out.

I’m uber excited about entering this new decade of my life and sharing all of our food adventures with you!

Lots of love xx