So for those of you who hit it, how do you cope with turning 30 years old?

[CyberCubed]

So like a lot of people here, I'm one of those guys approaching the dreaded 3-0 in a few years. It makes me sad because once I hit 30 I'll officially feel like I'm not a young adult anymore, and thus a "real" adult.

Like a lot of people, I spent most of my 20's still feeling like a teenager. While I have my own job and graduated College, I still felt not much different than when I was in High School. I think a lot of people in their early and mid-20's still feel like that, when you're in that awkward phase between being a young adult for the first time but still not sure what you plan to do for the rest of you life.

But a lot of people here already hit 30, or are close to it. How do you guys cope with hitting 30? That's like the milestone you can never go back from.

I just can't believe that dreaded 3-0 number is approaching for so many of us. I just don't want to think about it. It makes you officially realize your youth is slipping away and have aged.

[Zulithe]

Gotta convince yourself that it's just a number and not let it define you. Lots of old people act way younger and sometimes look way younger too. Did you know Johnny Depp was born in 1963? You'd never know it by guessing. You gotta live life by your own terms not by the number of earth's rotations you've managed to survived

Now, when you start FEELING old and you can't fight the symptoms of age anymore that's different, those can be very impactful to how you life your life. But until that happens I say don't let it change ANYTHING!

[goodfellaray]

I'm turning 30 in August. I'm not sweatin' it. As long as I'm alive and well, and my family's alive and well, I'm content.

[Leo656]

Alcohol helps. Kidding. Sorta.

Hell, I'unno, it went by so fast I didn't really have time to let it sink in. Now I'm too busy worrying about how close 40 is to care about being past 30, and I've barely been 30.

It doesn't mean a person can't still do the things they want to do in life, but I do notice there's a societal pressure/stigma once you hit 30 that you're supposed to have "done more" with your life, for lots of us.

Most of my clients are between 35 and 60, and many of us collectively share a joke that we all stopped having Birthdays at 27. Not sure why that seems to be the "peak" age, but that's what we seem to prefer. I guess because it's an age that's old enough to be a "responsible adult" but far away from 30 to still be "hip".

As long as I have my hair, I don't really care. I just don't go out of my way to advertise my age. I'm not ashamed of it, exactly, it's just easier not to talk about it.

[Roseangelo]

Dreaded? Pu-lease. It's just a number. 30 was just another birthday. At 32 I started karate and am now in the best shape of my life. No complaints from me.

[Leo656]

I'm with ya on that one. One of the best parts of my job is putting people in the best shape of their lives at a time when they thought it wasn't possible. It totally is, some people just need a little push.

Like most people, the "best" shape of my life was probably in high school - aka, "the last time I had visible abs" - but I'm definitely stronger, more durable, and with a comparable body fat level to back then, so I'll take it. I also didn't manage to get into wrestling until around 28, when most of my contemporaries started around 15-18, and I've done OK with it, to the point where apparently only people who know me well are even aware how much older I am than everyone else involved. I take some pride in that, as after 25 came and went and I hadn't even started training, I kind of figured wrestling wasn't going to happen, as it's a very size and age-prejudiced business, but it worked itself out.

The fact I've managed to do alright with wrestling while getting myself into shape comparable with where I was at 17 also makes me feel pretty good since I manged to do it all with a cracked C6 vertebrae I unknowingly suffered in high school. I somehow never noticed it until I had a neck X-ray done in 2006 or somewhere around there. I'm kind of glad, because if I had known about it sooner, I probably would have taken fewer risks with my body; finding out about it years later, after already having done a lot of stuff with no ill effects, made me confident that it wasn't going to keep me from doing things. I do have to be a little more careful with lifting, and doing certain wrestling moves, but altogether, I think I'm doing okay.

But I certainly haven't let my age, injuries, or anything like that hold me back or slow me down. If anything, I just wish I'd gotten an earlier start on certain things. Like, my Dad got to see me wrestle, but he died before he saw me when I was any good, so that's kind of a bummer. But that's life, I guess.

[Redeemer]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

So like a lot of people here, I'm one of those guys approaching the dreaded 3-0 in a few years. It makes me sad because once I hit 30 I'll officially feel like I'm not a young adult anymore, and thus a "real" adult.

Like a lot of people, I spent most of my 20's still feeling like a teenager. While I have my own job and graduated College, I still felt not much different than when I was in High School. I think a lot of people in their early and mid-20's still feel like that, when you're in that awkward phase between being a young adult for the first time but still not sure what you plan to do for the rest of you life.

But a lot of people here already hit 30, or are close to it. How do you guys cope with hitting 30? That's like the milestone you can never go back from.

I just can't believe that dreaded 3-0 number is approaching for so many of us. I just don't want to think about it. It makes you officially realize your youth is slipping away and have aged.

This song always cheers me up when thinking of how old I am getting (just turned 23 )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY6L7YMkVhA

[blindturtle02]

Aw it's not so bad. Just another number, really. I tend to think about what a relief it is to have put a tun of unpleasant miles behind me. There was a gal everyone told me I shouldn't date in college, and I was dumb enough to go ahead with it anyway. I think of being fortunate enough to be out of that situation and in a much better one these days. I don't have anything against my x. Not anymore. We weren't right for each other, and I was too bent on finding Mrs. Right to realize that at the time. I did find the perfect person for me, but it happened when I wasn't searching so strenuously. I think I learned allot in my 20's, but the main thing was patience. Another one was-- ironically enough, how to be a better listener and how to be content. Well I guess I'm still learning about being a better listener. Those, and you never really stop learning life's lessons. There's always room for improvement so I can be a better friend/partner etc. But you do that a step at a time. Life is similar to algebra, or at least that was what one of my teachers used to say. You handle things one step at a time because it's complicated enough. I don't think I'd like to relive my 20's again. Well, maybe the good parts. I'd rather not have to relearn this and that all over again. I still have a tun to learn as it is. Life's crazy sometimes. One minute, I feel like I'm 30, and then it has a way of reminding me that I'm still green.

[spiderpumpkin]

How about hitting 40?

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by spiderpumpkin

How about hitting 40?

I don't want to even think about it.

[Metalwolf]

I wonder if the fear of getting older, is because society is slanted in it's preference towards youth?

If you're a woman, you're seen as less 'desirable' once you've reached a certain age (I'm not talking wrinkles here, just age) and the descriptions of you become increasingly more negative.

If in a job situation, there is a known tendency to want younger workers, even though the older ones have more experience.

For some jobs, even though they have older members, there is a 'cut off' age. Once you get past past that you can't get that job. US Police used to have this at age 35, but they took that away and you can get a job as one all the way up to 60-65 I think.

But the thing is, age really is arbitrary in most cases, but the way society sort of starts restricting you (sometimes to the point of it being sometimes being harder to get a job after say, age 40 due to age alone) makes it harder not to feel uneasy.

Is that a part of your fear, Cubed? That you will be made to feel useless and not worth anything as you get older? Or is it the fear of physical decline?

[Jester]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

So for those of you who hit it, how do you cope with turning 30 years old?

I'll let you know in a little over a month...

[pennydreadful]

All this talk about Rainbow Dash has now gotten Somewhere Over The Rainbow stuck in my head...

[Katie]

Man. So much anxiety over a dumb number. I guarantee that you pretty much feel exactly as you feel now.

If you are a perpetual live at home with the parents, 30 isn't likely to change that.

If you aren't motivated to be a grown up in you 20's, 30 won't change that.

If you think that having to get married and have babies is a mandate of being in your 30's, get over it. All you are doing is making yourself reek of desparation.

I like what was said earlier. Growing older and growing up are two separate things.


On that note, all you 30 somethings out there....if you are still living at home and can't support yourself, I'm disappointed in you.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Katie

On that note, all you 30 somethings out there....if you are still living at home and can't support yourself, I'm disappointed in you.

That's actually more common now than you think. Some people even did move out in their 20's but had to move back in with their parents in their 30's because of financial issues.

This isn't the 90's, its a lot harder to live on your own unless both you and your boyfriend/girlfriend both have good jobs to pay the bills.

[BubblyShell22]

Uh, Cubed, she was joking. Didn't you see her smiley face?

In any case, I'm glad I live at home because my parents need me more than ever. I'm afraid if I move out, they'll end up killing each other because they just can't get along at all, but I know it'll have to happen eventually.

[Leo656]

It's good if it was a joke, sometimes text doesn't translate well. Still, it's a refrain I hear a lot, and some people actually DO mean it. Mostly people in my family who have lots of money and expect it'll come as easy to everyone else as it did to them.

We had a place and then lost it when work completely dried up at the old job. A LOT of people I went to school with are back "at home". One of my best friends was out for over ten years, moved to a different state, went to college, had several well-paying jobs, everything going great... then at 30 had to move back in with his parents and take a job at a movie theater when things suddenly went south. Or my poor sister, who at 37 had to move into her car with a 13 year old and a 5 year old after my father died and she couldn't financially support herself because the kids' father was a deadbeat who couldn't hold a job or give her any money. That was in no way her fault. Especially when she went to try and get homeless assistance from the state government and they told her that living in her car with the kids would be "good enough, in a couple of months you should be able to get another place." Eventually, a friend let her stay for a few months, and they were able to get another place, but the kids' father recently passed away and they're all back to only scraping by and will almost certainly be homeless again at some point. She does everything she can, but frankly, nobody wants to hire a single mother with two kids because employers know all the baggage that comes with that. She's lost a ton of jobs just because her kids were sick and had to go to the doctor. It's not her fault she's struggling, and a ton of people are in the exact same boat.

Bottom line: Things aren't getting any better for lots of people, only worse. Great for people who can "make it", but I've learned not to judge people. Standards have changed completely from even ten years ago. People who are doing well should just be happy that they are, and not cast judgment on people who are struggling. Nobody WANTS to live that way, after all. That said, I am happy for people who can get by. It's rough out there.

[CyberCubed]

It's a stigma from the 80's and 90's, that if you're over 18 and still living with your parents you were considered a loser.

Obviously this is no longer true. A lot of people in their mid to late 20's are still with their parents. Its not that they chose to be, its that they just can't get a good enough job to live on their own.

It really goes to show you how much society has changed.

[Peanut]

F*cking seriously talking about My Little Pony in here? Jesus Christ, Internet. Stop trying to kill me.

[Raphael32183]

I agree with its just a number. Im 31 with a wife and about to have my second daughter (i know, no boys lol but luckily my daughter watches the cartoons with me). But tmnt, drawing, comics, and other pop culture stuff will always keep me feeling like a kid at heart. So no worries its not that bad.