20 Things I Learned Before Entering My 30s
Be patient with yourself. You are not perfect. You make mistakes so you can learn and grow.
I never knew turning 30 could be so bittersweet. I’m forever grateful for the years I’ve been on Earth. It’s just that according to my life’s GPS, I am nowhere near my destination of where I needed to be by 30. I am still in Grad school, I have 0 kids, I am in a committed relationship, I don’t have a house, and finances..well that’s another story. I may not have the things I planned for by this age; however, I did learn some lessons in my 20s which will help make my 30s even better.
Here are 20 lessons I learned before turning 30:
1. Be patient with yourself. You are not perfect. You make mistakes so you can learn and grow.
2. A person who continuously makes the same mistakes after apologizing isn’t really sorry.
3. You’ll grow apart from people and that’s ok. As long as there was peace between you then the bridge hasn’t burnt.
4. Finances matter. What you spend now, will affect your credit later.
5. A man who cheats is incapable of loving anyone until he figures out how to first love himself.
6. Student loans are the devil.
7. Life won’t go as planned. Matter of fact it’ll be better than you planned.
8. Make memories. People won’t live forever no matter how much you want them too.
9. Yes, you can be professional and ratchet all in one. That’s what makes up pieces of the whole you.
10. You define your beautiful. Not people around you, not men, not social media but you. You are beautiful.
11. You don’t have to buy Christmas presents every year. It’s ok to say No. You don’t need gifts to compensate as a measurement of your love for a person.
12. Don’t allow anyone to rush you to have kids. They’re not going to be the ones who have to raise them. You are.
13. Your mental health is important. It’s ok to pause and relax. It’s ok to be selfish with your time, sometimes.
14. Write everything down. You can not keep millions of things locked in your brain, no matter how much you think you can.
15. Grief is challenging to overcome. You don’t get over it, you just learn how to deal with it better.
16. Social Media comparisons are not good. Sometimes people who appear to live their best life are really living their best lie.
17. You can’t force or hold on to people who want to be let go of. Be polite and walk them out the door is that’s what they want. You will be happy and so will they.
18. If you say no to something, then mean it. Never allow anyone to poke your no around so much that it becomes a yes.
19. Stop waiting for people to join you, and just go by yourself. Concerts, movies, out to eat, or whatever just do it! Sometimes the best memories are the ones you create alone.
20. Own your feelings. Journal everything because sometimes closure on paper is better than closure in person.
These are the lessons I have learned before turning 30. I may not be exactly where I’d like to be in life, but I’m not far from it either. The beauty of it all is that we are forever on a journey, forever in search of purpose, and we have to learn to be patient until we get there. 30 has arrived and I couldn’t be happier to greet her with open arms and love. Cheers to 30!
