So last weekend I hit a pretty big milestone. I hit 30. Besides the impending date of my birthday there’s a couple of tell-tale signs that made me realise I am approaching 30. Like the fact that if I’m staying up past 10pm on a school night I feel like a wild party animal. Where checking my Weatherzone app seems to not only come before checking Facebook, but it becomes a hot topic of discussion when talking about weekend plans. Or the fact that you look in the mirror and things just don’t seem to be as tight and bright as they did in your licence that you got taken at age 23.
And the biggest clincher? It’s now Thursday and I’m quite sure I’m still recovering from the hangover I received last Sunday.
Now in my early 20’s I never had a problem with growing up or ageing. And really who does, we think that fat will never creep up to our waistband. However about 6 months ago I really started to get uncomfortable with it. I started all the usual questions, am I happy with my life? Have I travelled enough? Studied enough? Am I financially secure? Will I be single forever? And let’s face it I’m sure that many of us ask themselves similar questions, whether we’d like to admit it or not. But what got me started on this article is, I’m not sure that these thoughts come from ourselves or if it’s something almost bred into us by society?
Why do we feel that if we haven’t gotten married, bought a house, had a kid or two – or perhaps done the opposite and travelled to at least 10 countries that we have no excuse to just be cruising along at our own pace? Facebook can be such a great way to connect but sometimes it’s just a daily reminder of maybe some of the things we don’t have; like a new shiny engagement ring, or a newborn baby photo to post. And then there’s always that sinking feeling when an invitation arrives in the mail and you realise it’s only addressed to you. Single plus none. But this isn’t about a sob story of my life! It’s about embracing what we have achieved.
We set such high expectations for ourselves but forget to look at the things we have achieved rather than the things that we haven’t. By the way, I looked up the definition of achieve- it’s successfully bring about or reach (a desired objective or result) by effort, skill, or courage.
Now we’ve all displayed courage in our everyday lives, fought hard for that promotion, have loved and lost, finally got that degree, or scrimped and saved for the deposit on our first home. Whatever it may be, whatever the situation, no life doesn’t stop at 30. We aren’t old. Not even close. It may be a little scary, but it’s a good time to realise that turning 30 is just another week in the calendar. The next weekend will still be filled with good friends, drinks, failed tinder dates and a Powerade or two on a Sunday morning.
So my question to you is, if you could give yourself one piece of advice to your 30 year old self- what would it be?
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