JCC Is it terrible turning 30?

Turning 31 was harder or me, because there were a few things I wanted to do/have done by the time I was 30, and turning 31 meant I'd officially failed.

But everyone keeps telling me self-imposed deadlines like that are silly, so I guess I'm probably not a failure. (SO LONG AS THEY HAPPEN BEFORE I TURN 32!)

They waited until then?! We got married July 21 and my grandmother asked that Labor Day weekend.

 

I got married at 28 so I made them wait a while already and I live on the other side of the ocean from them so it kept their opinions at bay.... until now.

 

I'm a youngling still. I'm in my early 20's. I look forward to hitting my 30's, but I don't mind waiting and enjoying my life thus far.

I would never EVER want to relive my teenage years, especially high school. Please, I'll do anything than that. I'll watch A Serbian Film and The Human Centipede at the same time while getting bowling pins thrown at me, than relive high school.

All jokes aside, high school was miserable, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemies.

 

I turned 30 last fall, and honestly, I think being 29 was worse. The whole time I was 29, I was dreading my next birthday, and when it arrived, I was like "Oh, is this all there is to turning 30? Meh."

 

The majority of my twenties was terrible, so I'm happy to be in my thirties.

 

I probably enjoyed my thirties more than any other decade: well-paying job, lived in Manhattan, got married, became a father twice. None of the angsty crap of the teens and twenties.

Unfortunately that **** kicks back in in the forties.

 

It will be terrible for me, since I probably haven't achieved anything by then. Then I will have lost all my 20 something perks and gained no 30 something perks. Perkless.

 

and that is why we love you.

 

How much did it cost to live in Manhattan?

 

You're missing the point. 69 is the new 27. Simple math, people.

 

So 27 is the new non-existent person? Does this mean I'm not a being yet?

 

Continuing on the "well-meaning but rude relatives who harass you about having progeny":

I got married a few days after turning 30 and a couple weeks after the wedding an aunt asked me if I was gonna get pregnant right away. I took offense at how she somehow deemed I have reached my expiration date and must therefore waste no time. I mean, I had just married a few days earlier, gimme a ******* break, let me enjoy this for a while. I reminded her I was in my last year of grad school and I had other priorities at the moment.

Things like this is why I dread family reunions, now it's become an incessant "so maybe next time you visit you'll be carrying a baby in your arms" every time we take off.

I don't care if you're a beloved family member. **** off, seriously.

Ok rant over

 

Yeah, **** off, Grandma.

But I agree, it is rude. People may not want kids, may not want kids yet, may be trying and not successful, etc.

 

I cried for a month before I turned 30. My generation came up with the line, "Don't trust anyone over 30," and now I was going to be 30.

Cried for an entire year before I turned 40. Seriously, every time I thought about being 40, I cried. Never mind that I had accomplished most of my life goals.

The year I turned 50, I was so happy to still be alive, I quit crying.

So, turning 30 ain't nothin', folks!

 

Well, I cried on my last birthday but I was probably drunk.

 

I'm 36. Age has never bothered me one bit. Sure, you like to maintain your looks, your flexibility, but you know you can't. Fortunately it happens gradually. When I look in the mirror, I don't see that I've aged--the person that's looking back at me, is the same person I saw when I was 8, 13, 24, whenever. And when I'm 90, I'll still see that same person. It's the same guy. It's me.

They say the Sun is a young star. It's about 4.5 billion years old. We exist for roughly 80 years, an ultra-small fraction of that time. In the grand scheme of things, it's next to nothing. Surely I'm not going to spend that short time I'm here fretting over being 30 or 40 or whatever. You might as well lie down in a coffin and wait if you're going to think like that.

 

Yeah... I really don't get crying for a year about getting older... seems like such a waste of a year.

 

Crying on your birthday is a waste of that day.

"It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to...". OK.

 

*lies down in a coffin and waits*

 

The way I see it turning 30 (or any other age) won't really matter. My birthdays usually have some sort of celebration, however small, but that's it. In the end they're really like any other day, for the rest of the world and certainly for me as well. I turned 23 last year. The day after I turned 23 felt the same as the day before I turned 23, and I have no reason to believe it will be any different for any other year.

I also reject the idea that getting older necessarily means becoming wiser/more experienced/more cynical/really anything. I think it depends on the person, and I also think aging isn't really much of a factor. I think it's got more to do with one's attitude and philosophy towards life and living. Opposing viewpoints on this are one of my major pet peeves because I consider them exceedingly short-sighted, and was the most prominent of the many reasons why I didn't get along with Wormie when she was around.

That said, you all know my viewpoints on death itself, and I am NOT happy about the aging process at all, just because I want to be in good physical health (which I need to work on somewhat now as well, but still, that's far easier now than it will be thirty years from now). On the other hand I think I also have a tendency to look to the future too much, sometimes to the detriment of the present; it's certainly made it harder for me to accomplish some things. Amusing considering history is my greatest passion, but ah well. I do believe that to be truly healthy and to live (most) intelligently one must have a balanced outlook and keep past, present, and future in mind, but I also think it's a lot harder for it to be done than said, and I fully admit I need to work on it myself.

 

I had a mini-freak out when I turned 29, but couldn't care less when I actually turned 30. Being in Vegas helped.

Before I even turned 31, I knew my thirties were going to be much better than my twenties (everyone said that would be the case, but I didn't believe them). I looked better, felt better, could still get away with mildly jackassy behavior, but could actually afford it now.

 

I turn 30 in about a month and I'm a little anxious but not really to concerned about it.

 

It's hard to believe we're all so old. Is there anybody here under twenty?