The Big Three Zero

With my brother reaching the big three zero this year, and having witnessed a fair few family members reach the milestone over the years, I thought it was only fair that I stopped taking the mick and put myself in their position, taking the time to think about what turning really 30 means.

Perhaps, in reality, celebrating 30 as the epitome of adulthood is a bit outdated. Come on, let’s be completely honest here, who at 30 really knows who they are or where they want to be? Maybe that’s just my youthful wonder shining through because I am yet to figure it (kind of). But from speaking to those around me, it seems like no one really ever knows, so why is there this stigma around turning 30? At 30, do we magically see the light and obtain the past three decades of wisdom in an all-knowing rite of passage? Alternatively, do we suddenly feel the urge to settle and no longer battle with risks? What is it about 30 that is so daunting?

My generation will know all too well the scenes from “Friends” where the members of the gang all turn 30, each one in a fit of despair at the prospect of their fun loving life coming to the end. But really? Come on, it’s just a number, how can an age change your life THAT drastically? It seems old fashioned that by 30 we need a career, a family, a mortgage…it just doesn’t work like that anymore.

A modern life has turned being 30 into the same as turning 20 (maybe with less of a university lifestyle but still the same). The maturity levels of the people I know have shown me that there’s no difference, but that could just be the people I hang out with! I don’t know if it is just me, but 30 is just not a big deal, why would it be? 30 is no longer mid-life, most of us will way exceed 60 so there’s no rush to think about the future. Times have changed and so should our attitudes to turning 30 (remember this is coming from a 21 year old so I may actually have no idea).

Granted, the big three zero still scares the heebie-jeebies out of me. To me, it is still the turning point of adulthood, I can preach a change of attitudes all I want, I still it see it that way. I see 30 as the beginning of a new chapter, even though it’s actually not that far away. Who knows where I’ll be in 9 years’ time, but I will be 30. I guess it’s the fact your leaving your 20’s, whence you could say “A decade ago I was a teenager” (weird huh?). I think that’s it. Becoming 30 means saying goodbye to your 20’s and consequently realising that your teenage years are long gone. How sad. No one wants to be old, and lucky for us 30 is no longer old, but it is a good way away from being 15. I think we all have goals, and 30 is often the time limit to reach them. For me, learning at least one new language before I’m 30 is a pretty achievable goal, but for a lot of my friends having it’s having their first baby! So when I weigh up turning 30 like that, yea, I can see why it’s scary.

So all in all what does 30 really mean. Is it the be all and end all of teenage life, or is the beginning of a new era, a new chapter of life?

I think it is safe to say that the world definitely does not end at 30. No, it ends at 40.

I joke of course.