This year I'm celebrating my birthday in a few different ways. Since my birthday falls on a Wednesday these activities/events are being done the weekend before and the weekend after. This weekend we're doing a large(r) family gathering and going bowling. My mother, younger sister, her boyfriend, his little girl (who is turning 2 this weekend), my older sister, her partner and their two boys are joining me at a miniature golf course (or bowling alley depending on the weather) and then pizza, birthday cake and swimming back at the condo's club house.
The following weekend the immediate family will be driving out to the coast for an overnight trip to the aquarium and eating at a place called Mo's (<< family/friends will understand the excitement of this). Returning on Saturday I'll then be joined by some of my gal-friends to an evening of Martinis & Manicures, photo booths and dancing the night away.
"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional" - Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis
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My birthday is in one week, and while I won't be turning 30 (turning 28) that's all I can seem to think of. I'm not dreading the big 3-0 but more just wondering where I'll be in two years.
Will I still be here in Portland? Will I have finally got off my arse and gone back to school? Will I be in this same job? Will I be living closer to (or with) my sweetheart? Will I feel like I finally have a grasp on what it means to be me?
I think the reason it worries me the most is because I'm two years away. That's two years of my life I don't have planned. The vague and unknown.
"30 is the new 20. Unless you're 20 and then it's the new 40" - Dane Peddigrew
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So here's my request, to my 30something (and older) friends/family:
What's so hot about 30?
How does life improve once your 20s are over?
How does life improve once your 20s are over?
So, I'm 27, but here are my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteOne, why do you need to have your life figured out by 30 or 28? I think that there is fun in the figuring out of life, of who you are, of what you're doing, of where you want to be going, and it's okay if it changes, that's part of life.
Also, what some friends have told me about becoming 30 and why they are Loving their 30s is because you gain confidence as you age, so you're still hot, but confident and more comfortable in your own skin. Also, you're out of the college years and have a job (unless you're me and still in school), so financially, you're much better off. You can take trips, live comfortably and on and on.
I say celebrate the uncertainties in your life. I think when we're 60 and seriously rooted in a life, we'll look back on these days of deciding with pleasure and joy about learning living and loving, so why not sit back, relax, know that we don't know and still get joy out of the moment?
(I say this now, but sometimes I freak out about my age as well).
Coming from someone who has now had a few years of experience being 30+ I would say the rumors are true---you really do get to know yourself better. You stop caring as much what others think, become more comfortable in your own skin, and follow your own heart/mind rather than doing things because that is what you think you're supposed to do or that other people expect of you. Everyone's different, of course, but I think it becomes easier to figure out where you really want to be in life when you're able to focus more on yourself. That's my 2 cents! Happy almost birthday!
ReplyDeleteyour birthday plans sound fun! bowling or mini-golf! and food! :) i guess, since i'm 31 yrs old, i can say something about being in my 30's. I don't feel ashamed any more of the fact that i don't drink and don't like going to bars. I am fine with staying home and being chill, or just going out to dinners with friends. It helps that there's been a non-smoking law in Illinois since 2008, but by then I was already 28 yrs old. I'm severely allergic to smoke and I'd pay for it big time if I ever went out to bars. So i had to always make a choice between my health or being social. Now that I can go, I don't want to! I'd go with a group of friends or something, not that I'm against it, but I don't have the desire to go like I did in my 20's, I don't feel like I'm "missing out" on that much, even tho I've been a non-drinker since I was 20 yrs old! lol! So, in that sense-or in that department- I feel more of a sense of peace about myself. But I still have my insecurities! I keep telling myself I still have a long time to live! I have noticed that stressing out/ worrying too much isn't good for me, but then I think that maybe I'm too complacent or comfortable with how my life is and that I should want more/ different things and have ambition about them and drive/ will to reach those goals. So, I get it. I worry about "should i be more educated?" but then I remember that tho i like to learn things, I don't think I have the where-with-all to be a student and write papers and read lots of complicated theory stuff. So, I go back and forth. not really the epitome of feeling like I have it together or living life exactly as i should! ;) but, isn't that the point of this blog? :) I have heard that with age, this all gets better, but maybe more in our 40's or 50's! I wish you the best of luck for having all the things you want in your life! :)
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