16th April 2024

2min read

Ah the days when turning 7 seemed like a big deal!

I have only days left as a 20-something year old, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to pause and think about the significance of turning 30.

Society, to its detriment, has made a big deal about ageing, which is odd because it’s one of those things we have no control over. It happens to all of us, it’s happening to you and me right now, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it (yet…), so why waste what precious little time and resources we have on worrying about it?

30 is significant because it feels like closing the chapter on youth. 30 is when you really become that grown up you imagined as a child, when 30-something year olds seemed ancient. 30 is when we’re told we should really have our sh*t together. 

Twenties are chaotic. You spend your twenties figuring out who you are, where you want to be, and all the instabilities that come with it. You’re fighting to get on the career ladder and forge your place in the world. You’re making friends, forming relationships, and making umpteen mistakes along the way.

I’ve done that bit now, and I wouldn’t want to do it again! Reaching 30 shouldn’t be approached with dread, it should be worn like a badge of honour these days. I’m going into my thirties with a successful business, a partner I love to pieces, a core group of friends who really matter and a future to look forward to. I’m not naïve enough to expect there won’t be challenges, but by this point in life I feel better equipped to handle them. I’m not dreading 30, I’m excited for the next chapter!

The only real limits of age come with what your physical body can handle. I already ache more after long hikes than I did in my early twenties, I can’t put away a kebab and chips with no consequences like I used to (thanks to a magical metabolism), I’m a terrible lightweight when it comes to drinking and I don’t even want to think about my last hangover…

So if there’s anything you should worry about when turning 30, it’s your health. If you aren’t doing it already, eat well, exercise properly and look after yourself! If there’s an ounce of truth to “You’re as young as you feel”, then that seems like the obvious way to do it. I guess I’m about to find out the long way round. Deep breath, here goes…