Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Turning 30

Turning 30 has been on my mind since 2012 began. And although the actual day was just last weekend, it's still there. I think this milestone is truly unique in that I'm not only getting older, but becoming more aware of what lies ahead. I asked my Facebook and Twitter friends to tell me what lessons they learned when they turned 30. Here are a few of my favorites:

"I didn't start living my life for myself until this year. I stopped enabling others and started working on what truly makes ME happy." 

"I think the most important thing I learned was who my real friends were & that my family is my rock. Mind you I'm still learning everyday. I learned to let go of the notion you have to achieve this by this time! That only inhibits you from living & learning."

"30 is just like being in your 20s - but you're more confident, less naive and pretty much done dealing with unnecessary BS!"

"In all honesty 30's are just practice for your 40's which are awesome!"

"Money doesn't make the person, it's what the person does with it that makes the person."

"Everyone has a gift: words of wisdom, knowledge to share with you, etc. But only if you listen."

"People spend a lot of energy trying to be perfect. Some of the most memorable times in life will come from an imperfect moment". 

Here's what I've learned ... the number 30 in itself doesn't mean anything. I know a lot of 30+ year olds who don't act any more mature than they did in their teenage years. However, I believe for most of us, especially in my generation, 30 is a turning point. For a lot of us, our 20s are spent getting freedom and learning how to deal with it. Or maybe that was just me. Mistakes and failures were the theme of my 20s, with some accomplishments sprinkled in randomly. But mostly, my 20s were about figuring out who I was - and trying to decide if I wanted to continue to be that, or if I wanted to change. A lot about me has stayed the same. But I can honestly say, by 29, I had worked on different aspects of myself and made strides towards being a better person. 

Now that I'm officially 30, I feel like I've just stepped into another world. Once again, I feel like I have a clean slate. And now it's up to me to blaze a new trail. I'm still working on myself - I'm a work in progress like everyone else - but at least now I feel like I have the fundamentals taken care of. I know what I want. I know I have to work hard. I know where I want to end up. I just have to get there. That's part of why this blog exists. This blog is my banner, waving back and forth from my little flagpole - screaming out to the universe. Read me! 

This blog has opened my world up to the possibility of actually achieving my biggest dreams. So, in my thirtieth year, the blog will be expanded and more publicized. Hopefully, it will garner more attention and someone will notice it and give me a chance to be a real writer/personality/commentator/entertainer. And if not, it will continue to be my outlet and my hobby. Which is fine. I'd just really like to be all that other stuff I mentioned before. 

In conclusion, 30 is just a number. But so far, I really like it. 

What do you think about turning 30? What lessons did you learn? Tweet me!