Today I was told, “You look young… for your age. I mean, you don’t look like you’re turning 30…”
Compliment?
What does 30 look like exactly?
I’m going to go on record saying this: Turning 30 is a big deal. How big a deal varies from one person to the next, sure, but whether you celebrate the hell out of it (like I plan to) or don’t celebrate it at all and simply ignore it, you’re still acknowledging it. Obviously it means something… right?
I remember being 23, a perky aerobics instructor, saying those exact words to another instructor that I thought “looked good for her age”.. she was 29. If this is karma, suck it.
Truth? I think I set myself up for feeling self-conscious about getting older before I even realized it was happening.
Possible?
More importantly, why is 30 considered a milestone year?… because I swear, EVERYONE who has been 30 tells me that it is.
Question: Have you ever felt self-conscious, overly aware or uncomfortable with your age? And/or is 30 really a milestone?
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
my current age-27 was my milestone year. i remember people always said 26-30 feels completely different from 20-25 but didnt understand that till now. for me-it’s because reality started setting in that i may not get everything i wanted by a certain age. i also saw people from my high school getting engaged/married/having kids-life seems to move a lot faster now than it did a few years ago.
So, I am 30 and I get this comment ALL THE TIME. I work among high school students a lot and they are like “WOW, You don’t look anywhere near 30″ “I can’t believe you have a kid and you are MARRIED!” Ok, So what is that supposed to mean? It doesn’t hurt my feelings or anything, but It is funny isn’t it? 30 was a milestone for me though. A really really good one. I didn’t start blogging till I was 30, didn’t feel good in my skin till I was 29. 30 has been shaping up to be the best year of my life and I feel it just getting better. I WOULD NEVER want to be 20 again, or 25 for that matter. Every year I get a little closer to the age I feel like I really am.
What a pleasant surprise! Thank you for stopping in here! There was definitely a time in my young[er] years I would have been PISSED to have been carded or questioned about my age. Now though, I’m all over it! I have to admit, recently I purchased wine, approached the cashier (who didn’t I.D. me!) and suggested, “er, did you want to see my driver’s license?” She was like, “no, you look old enough to me…” True story. The only reason I’ve ever coveted turning back time is to pursue my dreams earlier – no fear! – like I’m determined to do now.
These are exactly the thoughts that have been going through my head lately. I have no idea what 30 is supposed to look like either! The weird thing is that I have two friends/co-workers who are 20 & 40 respectively and when we hang out I don’t feel like we look like we have 3 decades between us (mind you, my 40 year old friend looks pretty freaking fantastic, and not at all what you’d expect a 40 year old to look like) or maybe I am just totally delusional! ha. I wish I didn’t worry about the superficial aspects of aging but I do. People who I know who are already 30 + said that once they “crossed over” into the 3-0’s they felt this new sense of confidence about themselves. This is awesome & I’m going to try and embrace this mentality!
In the past two years, I’ve gotten somewhat upset if anyone told me I looked like I was under the age of 21. I thought, I’m about to be 30, I don’t want to be mistaken for a child. Last week someone told me I looked like I was between 30 and 35. I didn’t like that either. He tried to cover it up by saying it was because I “seemed older” but the damage had already been done. I guess I’m far more self-conscious about my age than I ever realized. :P
Ah, I’m not too worried about reaching thirty, so much as growing up. Everybody around me is getting married, with mortgages, with kids…but as I was told the other day that I can easily pass for 25 (which is pretty damn good considering the hard living I’ve done) so I may just get away with it for another five years before the ladies start questioning “what’s wrong with him?” because I haven’t settled down.
I am slightly uncomfortable with my age. I am 28. It isn’t that I think I am super old. I know I’m not. I guess it is just that I would like to be at a different place than I am at the current moment. Wow, I don’t know if I have ever truly acknowledged that until now. Yeah, there you go. I wish I could rewind a few years to put myself on the track I’d like to be.
P.S. I took a sort of blog hiatus (from writing and reading). I missed reading your stuff. Glad to be back.
Just turned 30, feels the same but I guess it’s time for me stop screwing around and grow up :P
What does 30 look like – well older (more mature, not more wrinkly) than 20, but not as old as 50! ;) And at 47, I think I can say this from experience!
I’ve been uncomfortable with my age since I turned 19. The discomfort has become a lifestyle.
I’m 24 and I still get carded.
Sometimes it’s annoying, but then I think, hey! That means when I’m 30, I’ll probably look 24. And that is AWESOME.
My milestone was actually at 25 and 26. I felt like I was “close to 30″ and my young days were over… When I turned 30, I was too busy to notice! I was pretty fine with it. I’d also heard that somehow cosmically 30 was the perfect age, and I felt peaceful with it.
Just recently, however, I’ve over-achievingly decided to write a 15-year plan for myself, quickly realizing that in 15 years I will be 50… That is freaking me out.
Oh gosh, that’s karma for ya! I can’t really imagine what “for your age” would even mean — but this might be because I’m utterly useless at guessing people’s ages. Between the ages of 19 and 35, everyone looks like they’re about 26 to me.
30 is a milestone for me. I think my 30 before 30 list has emphasized this even more. It’s like once you are 30 it is hard to feel young anymore. You aren’t in your twenties. You can’t say you have all the time in the world to “settle down”. I don’t know maybe I’ll have more clarity once I get there.
Luckily I look young, so I can fake it for a little while longer.
I turn 30 this year and my feelings on the subject vary. Some days I’m really excited and think my 30s are going to be amazing. Other days I don’t want to leave my bed and just sob.
When I was younger, I always looked a bit older and loved it for the access to bars. Never thought I’d wish for the day to have my ID scrutinized to buy beer.
I don’t believe it’s a milestone unless you try to make it one, and if you do you run the risk that instead you’ll wind up with a millstone.
Exactly what I am afraid of! Lately, sort of feels like I’m passing one, too.
I’ve been mistaken for 30 or older since I was in junior high! As I’ve mentioned before, I’m looking forward to a new start at 30. I’ve made A LOT of mistakes during my younger days, and my 30s seem to be the best time for a clean slate.
But there’s still that little part of me… My college friends and I were so flamboyant back then. It was nothing for us to go out in public in all-leather outfits, stuff with fur and feathers on it, snakeskin, leopard and zebra prints, oversized hats… Some of my guy friends started doing drag on the side, too. One of those guys was in drag the night he got thrown in a West Virginia jail. We dressed for an average weekend like anyone else does for Halloween.
Our clothes also fit our behavior :)
One of my two best friends and I were talking about how crazy we looked and why we spent all that money on — THAT! He said it best: “We thought it would all last forever.” *Sigh*
I’ve gotten that one before too and i didn’t quite know how to take it. When I told my boss I was turning 35 she thought I wasn’t even 30 yet. Did that mean I looked young or “seemed” young? I never really figured it out, but I guess 30 can be a milestone for some. For me, things really didn’t start clicking in my life until my 30s.