All the things you suddenly say from your 30s onwards
If you had given me a glimpse into my life as a thirty-year-old five years ago, I would have never believed that my life would look like this. I went from a tumultuous love life to a stable relationship, I traded my job in education for a freelance career as a writer, and I have never enjoyed quiet evenings with the people I love so much. The restlessness, which was almost my life elixir as a young twenty-something, has disappeared and made way for calmness, love, and ambition. Not that I suddenly find myself very old, but I do see how much has changed. This is also reflected in the things I increasingly say to myself and to others, because when you turn thirty, you suddenly start to blurt out the following things.
‘Why are all the shirts so short?’
Cropped is hot, I get it. But dear people at the forefront of the latest trends: I am thirty. Thir-ty. No one is waiting to look straight into my navel at every appointment, and I find all those short shirts quite cold. Shall we agree to also take into account the girls over thirty, who love style, comfort, and not unimportantly: a warm back?
‘I really need to save on groceries.’
Gone are the days when you threw everything into your cart without thinking. Nowadays, you complain three to five times a week about how horrifically expensive everything has become and you scour, even though you had solemnly promised yourself that you would never start this, the best deals weekly. Am I hearing a dose of bourgeoisie knocking at the door?
’Going out? It's 9 o'clock.’
You can't count on me if you want to go out after 9 PM. Where I was always up for a nocturnal adventure about five years ago, I now have absolutely no desire to hang out in the city lights weekly. Maybe this is also somewhat seasonal (everyone with a winter dip understands this), but my skincare is already done and most likely I'm already in bed. So don't call me, literally.
‘I don't have time for this.’
The best thing about being thirty? You learn to stand up for yourself better, which automatically means you dare to say goodbye faster to people who drain your energy and are unkind to you. You are the boss of your own life, which also gives you the power to hire people, offer promotions, and fire where necessary. Wonderful!
‘In my time...’
Yes, suddenly we have ‘our time’. And that wasn't even that long ago. Yet I like to refer back to the times when you raced home to log in to MSN as quickly as possible, SMS messages cost 19 cents each, and we filled Hyves with messages as if our lives depended on it. In other words: the time when everything was better.
‘I feel like settling down.’
Me? Settle down? Yes, the peace has finally returned and I can't wait to trade my busy, urban apartment for a quieter, more spacious place (with a garden!) where a little dog and someday (in a very long time) a child can play. Cozy, but I'm really looking forward to it. Still, I absolutely see the beauty of the unknown, enjoy every moment in the apartment where I have grown up, and look forward to the future. So much has changed in the past five years, which can only mean one thing: it can only get better.
