I have aging on the brain. Since my post about turning 29, I’ve been thinking even more about turning 30. It’s happening to people everywhere I turn! Just last weekend I attended a spectacular bash to ring in a friend’s crossing to the old side. There was a photo booth, obviously intended to capture images of us looking the best we’ll ever look. Not that 30 is old…right?…
But as I stressed over the big 2-9 versus the big 3-0, I realized it’s possible that neither is as scary as 29.5 – the six months before the turn 30. At 29 you have a full year to make something happen. You could write a book, travel the world, get engaged AND married, have a whole baby for crying out loud!
The window between 29.5 and 30 is not so open. You can’t even turn one baby lemon to an eatable lemon in that amount of time (according to my research…slash backyard). As such, THAT is the time in life I’m now most curious to understand.
So I ask you – readers, friends and family – how did you/would you/will you feel at 29.5? If you’ll be afraid, what will you be afraid of? If you’ll feel liberated, why? If you’ll feel pressure, where is it coming from? Do you have a sense of where you should be at that very time in life? What changes when you’re 30? What doesn’t? Is 29.5 the last time in your life that you can take major, unfettered risks? Or is it just another number that comes with another set of pressures forced on us by Cosmo magazine articles…and blog posts…
Looking forward to your feedback/free therapy in comments.
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“…a friend’s crossing to the old side.” Huh? I LOVED turning 30; I looked forward to it the whole year I was 29. I was happy to say goodbye to my 20s, where I always felt out of place and uncomfortable with the myriad changes and adjustments. You should be proud to have so many accomplishments under your belt and look forward to all you’ll get done in the next decade!
I still have a few years to go (I recently turned 26) but I don’t think turning 29, 30 or even 29.5 will stress me out as long as I have at least a couple aspects of my life together. Currently I’m happy with where I am career-wise, so even if I can just continue along this same path for the next few years I think I’ll be reasonably calm about turning 30.
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I will be thirty in a month and I am scared $hitless. I’m not ready to be thirty. I don’t feel that old. Everyone keeps telling me thirty is like your twenties with money. I just don’t know. I was not even thinking about it at 29.5 . It still seemed so far off. Now I’m staring at it likes it the barrel of a hand gun. My heart races and I get nervous just thinking about it. I know there is nothing I can do to prevent it from happening. But I still can’t accept it. Lol