I always imagined that year 30 would come with some grand wisdom, a revelation, or an epiphany. Or at least I should be a little more disciplined than the young me without a care in the world. No! It came unexpectedly, and I certainly wasn’t prepared for it.

As a teenager, when I saw my uncles and aunties celebrating their 30th birthday, it was as if they were old and boring, life must have passed them, they were not allowed to have fun anymore, their bones must be weak and feeble, they are really close to retirement, they must be on Meds to keep their BP on normal or probably must have had their first surgery. Maybe not that deep but close.

It felt like that was a long time away from me, I still have time. And then I blinked and now I am a few days away from turning 30. I feel like a 16-year-old with more money, more responsibility, more memories and more stories to tell.

The thing is my teenage years and twenties happened so fast, it was chaotic, I tried my hands on too many things and failed at a lot of them, I took too many risk and now I call them memories, I definitely didn’t have my life figured out, my life felt like a puzzle that didn’t have an end, I hopped from job to job trying to find what fits, I was constantly worried that I am failing behind in this fast paced world where the internet somehow shows you how others are excelling at adulthood and I somehow missed the guidelines.

Adulthood has had it fair share on me, I have lost some friends that I thought we would be buddies for life, their death still hurt me, and when I think about it, I always wonder what life is really about. I have also lost some friends, not to death but to differences, that hurts also. I have learnt that friendships can be like Vancouver weather, it sometimes changes without warning, and that’s okay. Some friends are there for a season, some for a reason and only a few are there for a lifetime. I have learnt to enjoy the present cause it’s a gift we have, enjoy the moment.

There are also losses that are good, like letting go of old unrealistic expectations, old habits that wasn’t productive, saying goodbye to people that I thought would always be in my life as friends but are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing.

But somehow in all this mess I found peace, I found my tribe, I found myself. Not because I have everything figured out, but because I understand that I don’t have to.

I realized that 30 is not old, it’s actually very young, I feel in the prime of my life, I am happier than I imagined, I am not on Meds for my BP, I m having the most fun in my life, I am not close to retirement(I wish I was Tho), I had a toe surgery but I don’t think that counts as surgery. 

The year I turned 30, I realized I am just a 16-year-old with more money, more responsibility, more memories and more stories to tell.

I am going into the next decade of my life with the intention to enjoy it, cause if there is anything I have learnt in my 30 years here, it is that Time flies. You have to be intentional to live before you Die.

Cheers to 30