Turning 30 Was Anti-Climactic…
And why it’s okay to feel that way.
I, along with many other people, turned 30 in the midst of a pandemic. It felt horribly anti-climactic.
For years, people have told me that 30 was the new 20. That the best things would happen to me in my 30s. So far, it hasn’t lived up to the hype.
I’ve been more anxious, more stressed, and more overwhelmed than I was in my 20s. Turning 30 just felt loaded in so many ways.
So many people think that when you turn 30, you need to have it all together. Married. Kids. Career. Dog and/or cat. House with your picket white fence.
Funny, how our expectations don’t really line up with reality.
Life is messy and complex. Shouldn’t turning a new decade be just as messy and come with complex emotions too?
If you turned 30 in the middle of a pandemic or the middle of just another year in the 21st century, either way, whatever you felt, it’s valid.
Acknowledge the new decade but release the expectations around that new decade. Consider a new decade a new beginning. You get to make this next ten years what you want it to be.
Release. Embrace. And move forward. Who knows, this next ten years might be the best yet. Or the worst. Either way, recognize that you don’t have to have it all together, now or in ten years.
Expectations are just anxiety we put on ourselves about what other people perceive. You are the one who gets to make the choices. Enjoy your next decade as you would like.
The choice is yours. Make it a good one.
