Bethany's birthday retrospective (Happy Birthday, BLJ!) made me remember my infamous 12-year plan.

When I was 17 and a senior in high school I made a list of all the things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. I dug out the list tonight -- a slightly crumpled piece of paper that has been demoted over the years from my trapper keeper, to a filing cabinet, and finally to the dusty depths of a tattered cardboard box. When I was in my 20s and starting to notice the items on this list were not getting checked off I felt badly. A bit like a failure -- someone who was unable to realize my dreams. Now, however, I can look on it with a bit of love for the girl that I was and respect for the woman I have become despite changing my goals along the way.

I didn't go to large state university as I had hoped. When I didn't get accepted, I was crestfallen. Instead I went to smaller school without the big name or reputation. There, I met an amazing group of friends, learned major lessons in diversity, and was given real life opportunities that I may never have received otherwise.

I never moved out of state, or better yet, out of country for a few years like I had planned. (Though I did try for a job transfer to Australia once!) But I held a job that required lots of travel for a while. I've been in 37 different states. I visited cities so small the billboard as you entered the town says "Population: Just Plain Good Folks." And I've battled subway stations and highway traffic in our country's biggest cities. I've seen more than I had even planned for myself and I'm richer for it.

I'm single, which goes completely against my plans for marrying the perfect blend of John, Jeff, and Jamie (three guys that were pretty important to my 17-year old self). I never would have aimed to have my heart miserably broken. I never would have expected to do something so horrible as cheat on a boyfriend. I never would have wanted to break any hearts myself. But I've done all three things -- some multiple times. And I've learned and grown with each experience.

I don't have two kids with plans for two more. And I know the teenager in me is surprised that I'm adopting a child from Russia. It may not be the path I expected to take, but the end result is the same. I will be a mother.

At 17 I thought I knew it all. I thought I knew what was right for me and my life. Now at 33, if there's one thing I know, it's that I don't know it all. But so far, though it's taken turns I couldn't have ever expected, life's been pretty good. I can't wait to turn the next page.

What things in your life turned out different (better or worse) than you might have expected back when you were a teenager?