This shouldn't really be called hitting the thirties as I am in my mid thirties. I am fully qualified to discuss this important and frankly radical issue, it's just I haven't hit the thirties now in over four years.
To be fair I didn't 'hit' my thirties either. That implies occurrences of 'Kapow' and 'boom', doesn't it? For me it was more an awkward drift, ushered into the theatre politely while the show was in full swing. My thirties feels like I am more civilised, although I can still get up to mischief and blend quite nicely into a crowd of twentysomethings (I'll bet it's actually a crowd of thirtysomethings all thinking everyone else is in their twenties)
I still like the same TV I did in my twenties, have the same aspiration to read a library full of books (I guess these days a kindle). I like new music and still feel a little stupid if I say hello to someone who doesn't say hello back. I have changed but I still carry old habits, feelings and thoughts.
Physically, well that's a hard one , but am pretty sure I am in okay shape I just feel I have to be a bit more aware of my body. It's not as strong as it was in my teens. I can throw myself around but if things start to creak or feel a little sore I need to pay more attention.
In recent local news though a 90-year-old had been secretly running marathons, keeping this fact hidden from his wife since he'd had a heart attack 20 years prior. Puts my worried thoughts to shame but I am not alone.
If my gut sticks out more than normal or my knee clicks as I walk up a hill I blame being in my thirties. But I did this in my twenties. A 19-year-old I currently train with admitted recently he had doubts about starting training at the kung-fu club because he felt too old. It seems others are not immune to worrying about the advances of time.
Life feels a bit easier in my thirties but that's not a physical thing, rather that my life is taking the directions I feel personally are the right ones, they could have happened last decade
I remember down at a Tesco Express, several years back, I was standing in a queue full of well mannered and unsettled folk while a couple of smack-heads took ages to complete their transaction at the till. They would argue over items they'd selected and over loose change , "I NEED TWENTY PENCE YOU F*CKING C**T" the charming lady would scream to her vicious looking companion. What a life if that alone is a drama!
I am glad I have not got a serious drug addiction with a firm grip on my life. It can always get taken away from me , but not without a struggle.
In my thirties I am learning to fight the ageing process. I need to make sure I take criticism and appreciate I am not as good as others , a lot of the time from people a lot younger. Fighting the urge to feel resentful of my failings is important and helps me feel younger.
I worry about death, about getting old and ill. I worry about the future about what will happen when my family needs my support. I do worry, but I try not to do that too much, I know it will happen so I prepare by getting on with things. I cannot control the inevitability but I can try and keep healthy so it helps me when I need to confront the next batch of life's challenges.
Life is only as complicated as you make it, as yet I still think this is a pretty accurate statement.
I still have dreams and aspirations, I don't want to stop moving just yet. I have two decades that I can remember to trigger fond memories with beautiful nostalgia from books, music and film.
I don't think I had any preconceived ideas of what my thirties would be like. I struggle to craft any for my forties.
I still worry about what people think of me, but not as many people as I used to.
Sometimes I simply cannot believe that we will die and that everything we've worked for is potentially lost.
I have less sympathy for the truly wicked and I don't drink as much caffeine. No link
In conclusion being in my mid thirties means I have lived for that many years, not much else when I think about it.
You can find more of the same at Graeme's blog