Pleasure meeting me!

The more I embrace my 30's, the more I get to know the real me.  I thought I was "grown & sexy" before, but I am really loving me!  It has been such a pleasure meeting myself and I'm happy I finally showed up to the party!
I realize I've been embarrassed of certain aspects of my life because I cared so much about what society had to say about things.  My name was made fun of so much that I started using my middle name so that I didn't feel so "ghetto."  I did so many things and made so many adjustments so that I blended in.  I realize now that being "ghetto" is a state of mind that only I can put myself in.  I know now that if I am the best all that I am...that works.  I don't have to be a know it all or excel at everything.  I don't have to "fake-it till I make it" because I'll get there and admitting that I'm a work in progress and can use some help along the way have been the most liberating and, surprisingly, empowering thing I could have done for myself.  Knowing that I'm not flawless has not been seen as a weakness, it's seen as being human.
I have been on a 30 year journey to find myself and come into my own, and my voyage has just begun! I am so excited to see what the future holds and I want to talk to young people and tell them how important it is to figure things like this out.  I'm sure it will go in one ear and out the other, like it did when someone tried to tell me lol.  I have the friends that I need, I deal with people that I need to deal with and know when to cut ties with things that are bad for me.  It's been awesome.  I am looking forward to the adventure and eager to share my experiences!
What are some milestone life lessons that you have learned.  What have you learned about yourself that you didn't know 3 years ago, 5 years ago, maybe 10 years ago?  No matter how old you are...we are constantly learning something new about ourselves.  Do share!