why aging isn’t scary but is actually slightly awesome
today, i’m just going to take a few pieces from another blog i read recently. i thought about just using it as inspiration, but i think it sums up why aging, at least this particular milestone, isn’t scary. also, the other day i told someone that if i had to be 15 for my entire life, instead of watching time march on, i would. the sentiment was there, but the concept is ridiculous.
“you aren’t the kid anymore you are not brand new in your field. your ideas and ideals are the same but the fact that you have more experience and tangible achievements to showcase them, it’s not as easy for people to dismiss of overlook you.”
this isn’t to say i don’t have a lot to learn, but to a certain extent, i feel like i have put in a lot of time learning. it feels good not to be the new ‘kid’ anymore. i feel like while i keep learning, i can help teach too.
“you have the whole living thing under control when you are 21 and you move out of home, it’s huge shock to the system. [bills appear] [and need to be paid] food doesn’t magically appear in the fridge and dinner doesn’t cook itself. by the time you are in your twenties, you are totally down with separating your whites and darks, you know that you can’t buy a $500 handbag with out having to call your parents to borrow money for rent. it’s a bit carefree to be eating baked beans at 21 but now that you’re older, it’s nice to be able to pay your bills on time…and drink wine that comes in a bottle”
well, except the wine in a bottle thing, it is nice to look around and feel relatively ‘put together.’ as i sit here typing, i’m drinking a cup of coffee that’s way cheaper than starbucks and thirty (HAR HAR) times better, watching saved by the bell in my own space with a stack of bills next to me ready for the mailbox.
“you aren’t in a rush anymore when you are 21 everything is about now. you need to travel. now. you need to have a boyfriend. now. you need to be the editor of a magazine/rock star/CEO of a big company. now. you need a fabulous apartment. now. it takes a good few years to learn the subtle art of calming the frack down. now that you are no longer fuelled by red bull vodka soaked evenings, planning world domination, you have the maturity to look at your goals objectively and make plans to achieve them.”
i still enjoy a whisky fueled night out every now and then, but my social life does not live and die by it. i know what i want (sometimes) and while it often takes patience, i enjoy the small achievements that lead to reaching those goals. and i LOVE TO MAKE A PLAN AND SEE IT OUT. i always have, but now i like to sit back and enjoy the process a bit more now. the sense of urgency is gone (okay, maybe its slightly replaced by a new sense of urgency brought on my turning 30, but that is not what this is all about…)
“you know your limits you know how much of a beating you can take from toxic people before you crack. you know how many nights a week you can work late before you lose the plot. you know how many glasses….bottles of wine you can ingest before you start making friends with the toilet. obviously being in your late twenties thirties doesn’t give you immunity from making bad decisions, it’s just that when you were 21 life was a big experiment. now. that you are older you are armed with more information and a greater understanding of how you function mentally, emotionally and physically….and you can use this information to avoid the disasters that seemed to stalk you when you were younger.”
i’m personally still learning those limits, but the words are there and they are right. the past decade has been SO informative. and fun. and interesting. and exciting. and that was all while being a total idiot. i can’t wait to see what awaits me in a new decade where i am armed with so much more than when i started the last one.
