Thoughts on Turning 30

It’s Friday the 13^th and among other potentially scary thoughts this marks the 8 day countdown to my 30^th birthday. Hard to believe.

But as I sit here and reflect on this “milestone” birthday I feel more happiness than sadness in saying goodbye to my 20’s. This might be a strange thing to say considering most 20-somethings consider 30 to be “old” (I could include myself in that category. When I was 25, turning 30 couldn’t have been more frightening), but I can safely say that the older you get the less scary these things seem.

The new definition of scary to me now is trying to find that first job, struggling financially, and going through dating and relationship hell—all of which occurred in my 20’s. Sure I had a great time in college but there is a whole lot of uncertainty that comes with being young, immature, trying to assert yourself and determining just what you want from life.

I can’t say I have it all figured out now (not by any means) but I definitely feel as if I have a better grip on who I am and who I want to be as I enter into my 30’s and to me that is a very comforting thought. 30 isn’t old to me anymore, it’s the beginning of living my life as a fully capable adult.

If you were to ask me when I was 20 where I would be when I turned 30, I would’ve said that I would be married with at least one kid. As you readers know, neither of those things have happened to me and honestly I couldn’t be happier. I am so glad that I didn’t get married young (not to say there is anything wrong with that of course) because if I would have gotten married to the person I thought I should’ve married I know it would have more than likely ended in a bitter divorce and who wants that? I know way too many people who are my age and have been married/divorced and have kids in the whole equation and it’s just one big nasty mess. When people tell you that you should wait until 30 to get married it really is no joke—and I am not just saying this because that happens to be my current situation, I’m saying it because I have seen it first hand with people who are close to me.

But I digress.

So what am I looking forward to in my 30’s? Here’s the shortlist:

1.  Being able to take care of myself financially
2. Feeling comfortable and capable in my chosen career
3.  Being in a relationship that is based on love, not selfishness
4. Getting married and possibly starting a family
5. Taking every opportunity to be the best aunt ever
6. Traveling
7.  Living healthier than I did in my 20’s
8.  Finding balance with life and who I am as a person

I guess you could say that I’m an optimist. At the very least I hope that I can look back on this list when I am 40 and know that I set some goals and tried to live the last 10 years as meaningfully as possible.  It seems to me that the future doesn't appear so scary if you are hopeful.