Yes, you read the title right.
I’m with you though, until I saw this TED Talk by Meg Jay, 30 is not the new 20, I too took comfort in the notion of delayed adulthood. In fact, these days, although I’m 30, I feel more like I’m 25.
True story: I was out in public recently and someone asked me my age and without thinking I blurted out, “25!” (who does that?!?).
When you live in a big city like I do, where it’s deemed acceptable and even perferred to stretch out your youthful years, it seemed surprising to both myself and my friends when I, along with my ex, bought our first home at the ripe age of 26. I had a lot of schooling and employment experience behind me and I felt like I was much, much older than I really was — but the truth was, I wasn’t very happy.
These days, although my life looks much different than my much mature late 20′s, (I’m single, I rent a cute apartment and I ride my little toy bike everywhere) I now feel grounded and much further along on my life path than I ever did back then. I’m no longer rushing to get to the next phase of my life and instead, I spend a lot of time exploring and investing in what makes me happy (my blog, writing, volunteer work, etc.). I’ve come to the realization that these small things are essential to getting to know who you are. Although on the surface they may not be as comparable to milestones such as purchasing your first home or even settling down with a partner, but they do have great weight in influencing who it is that you will grow to be — which is the very foundation of your life path.
Whether you’re dead smack in the middle of your 20′s or you’ve just reached the daunting 30′s — I promise you that this TED Talk is going to make you think and perhaps, make you slightly panic (like I sorta, maybe did).
If after watching this talk, you start to feel a tad bit off-kilter, you can read some good ol’ internet rebuttal here.
S.
