On Turning Thirty in the Year of a Pandemic
Whenever there’s something that we’re so eagerly looking forward to, things never turn out quite the way we envisioned
My twenties have been an emotional rollercoaster (as I can imagine they were for the majority of other people as well). It’s been a wild ride full of ups and downs including many successes, failures, hardships, and a ton of life lessons learned.
But, towards the end of it, things got so much better.
In this past year, I reached this indescribable, defining moment of self-assurance, self-acceptance, and self-love. It was a moment of clarity that was both relieving and exhilarating. I had been waiting for this moment throughout my entire twenties.
I kept receiving the same advice over and over again from my sister, my parents, and my friends who had already turned thirty and were reassuring me with the notion that things would eventually reach a turning point.
And things did. And what a feeling that was.
This past year, I had never been more confident in my life. I was fully embracing the thought of finally leaving my twenties and entering my thirties. I was excited to come into a new decade of life with such confidence. However, it got a little less exciting about a month and a half ago when the pandemic really started to take a turn for the worse.
I never made a big fuss about birthdays in the past. Internally, I cared about them more as a time to reflect and look back on my personal growth and what I’ve accomplished. Externally, I didn’t care for the parties or the celebrations. I honestly hated planning them and I never expected much from anyone else either (even though my friends would be always be silently scheming).
Last year, I told my friends not to bother and to just wait until my thirtieth birthday to do something. Of course, they didn’t listen. We still celebrated. They threw me a surprise birthday brunch and it was actually really nice. But, I wanted to hold out for a big celebration for turning thirty because I was actually looking forward to it.
My birthday is still a little while away — seven months from this very day, to be exact. However, I have friends who were born in the same year as me who have already turned thirty during this pandemic and I have to admit, it seems like a bit of a depressing time to turn thirty, let alone have a birthday at all.
But, as we know, time waits for no one.
The days have gone by and they’ll continue to go by regardless of whether we want them to or not. And I’ve come to the realization that this is just how life is going to be for now and it will eventually pass. And if it continues to be like this up until my birthday, then so be it.
It seems a bit ironic though, like a bad joke that the universe is playing on us. Whenever there’s something that we’re so eagerly looking forward to, things never turn out quite the way we envisioned.
Here we are in the year 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, with life temporarily on hold. This is a year that seemed to be important, not only for me, but for many other people as well. Yet, it hasn’t measured up to what we had hoped.
And, I guess that almost seems appropriate for my thirtieth birthday — a year that will most definitely not be forgotten. A year when the entire world was turned upside down. But, maybe that gives me something to look forward to.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article, check out “Why “No New Friends” Will Be the Slogan for My Thirties”
