Thirty Is When Real Life Begins?

1. 79

   SweetiePieposted 16 years ago

   I just turned thirty on Tuesday and several friends have told me they thought thirty was when real life begins.  Does anyone else feel this way?  Just curious.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      SirDentposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Happy Birthday Sweetie!!! Honestly I can't remember the 30's all that well, it was such a looooooooong time ago. 

      replyreport
   2. 60

      terenceyap07posted 16 years agoin reply to this

      I tend to agree with Mark when he said that our perspective and view of life changes at every milestone that we reach. And I also agree with your view that real life involves living life to the fullest.
      
      That "life begins at 30" is a view shared by many around your age group. As I approach 50, I am inclined to advocate that life begins at 50. And I'm sure that I'll be convinced that life begins at 60 when I am nearing that milestone in future, too. LOL!!!
      
      A happy belated birthday to you, SweetiePie. May your blessings greatly multiply throughout this coming decade.
      
      *smiles*

      replyreport
   3. 70

      Maddie Ruudposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, happy birthday!  And if that's the case (that life begins when you're thirty), I guess I'm just a figment of all y'all's imagaination.

      replyreport
      1. 79

         SweetiePieposted 16 years agoin reply to this

         
         I still think real life is whenever we are living to the fullest, no matter what age it may be .

         replyreport
   4. 56

      Jerrico Usherposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      "Real" life begins not based on an age, I know some 30 year olds who still have the ridiculous mentality of a pubescent kid, and I know 50 year old men who still haven't got a clue. "Real" life begins when you break out of sheeple mode and start to think for yourself.  When you can watch a television commercial and it doesn't sway you, yet still entertains you. When you start chasing your dreams, not locking yourself into a dead end job and still believe that you will "get a raise" and that will make everything ok
      
      Real life begins when you can read the ten life laws in Dr. Phil's book and start getting "aha" moments because you realize that your responsible for your life, no one else and since your responsible only you can change it. I see real life as mental maturity, living your core, and living life not letting life live you, when you break out of auto pilot and start driving, ahhhh then you really start to live and find success, some people live their whole life and die never having experienced "real life".
      
      To clarify the "life begins at 30" point however it is based on the fact that statistically speaking most people break out of "The Matrix" in their thirties usually because they've had enough of being dragged and start waking up and controlling their own life. Sadly however it's not like puberty where it just happens at 12 and you deal with it, no it doesn't just happen automatically at 30, its the other way around, you make it happen or you deal with the consequences of sheeple prison mentalities...
      
      *smiles* but this is just my opinion on the matter...
      
      Jerrico
      
      (in my opinion based on your hubs and our few email conversations however, I think your "real life" began a very long time ago my friend   )

      replyreport
   5. 0

      sandra rinckposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      ...to suck.  lol happy late birthday. 
      
      

      replyreport
2. 69

   Anna Marie Bowmanposted 16 years ago

   Happy Birthday!!!!!  And, I seriously hope your friends are right!  I turn thirty in 8 months, and I have had some mixed emotions about the whole thing.

   replyreport
3. 79

   SweetiePieposted 16 years ago

   Really I was not excited about turning thirty and I always thought real life was every minute you live the fullest .  I am sure your life will be great when you turn thirty .

   replyreport
4. 75

   spryteposted 16 years ago

   Hehehe...sorry...I can't help but kinda giggle at your question about heading into your thirties.  Only because I remember feeling the same way after hearing how great the thirties are...
   
   But it's true!  You are both going to so love your thirties...
   
   I don't know if I'd say that life begins at that age...it just gets infinitely less self-centered (and I don't mean that in a necessarily negative way).  Most women I've talked to about it agree that they feel more comfortable in who they are and less inclined to follow a "pack mentality." 
   
   It's just an all around great decade and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 
   
   PS And a belated happy birthday to you Sweetie!

   replyreport
5. 77

   Uninvited Writerposted 16 years ago

   You discover in your 30s that everything you thought you knew in your 20s was wrong

   replyreport
   1. 66

      hubby7posted 16 years agoin reply to this

      I love it! I really enjoyed it! You turned this brown guy pink!
      
                              hubby7

      replyreport
   2. 56

      Jerrico Usherposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      I concur, The beauty of each decade is your experiences in the last bring about wisdom and if you actively seek this wisdom it will set you free. Usually 30 is the age of mental maturity, where you break from the "pack" of followers and realize that you are the one in control, so the next ten years your like a kid in a candy store.
      
      Its like going back to kindergarten with what you know now, life becomes more manageable and vibrant, in your 40's you are in a stable place (if you played your cards right with what you knew in your thirties) because what you built in your thirties will now sustain you (usually this is where your career is full force).
      
      In your 50's you've ridden one too many fun coasters in the biorhythms of life and find yourself wanting to relax already, in your 60's you stop trying to figure everything out and revisit the simple things in life because with all your wisdom you've made it to the bonus round of life where your no longer lost, at the whim of the systems in place, you now look at that flower for its true wealth.. you reconnect with nature and really feel alive (but life's cruel joke is this is simultaneously when you receive all those karma bills in your body for what you did in your 20's 30's and 40's (you calmed down in the 50's)...

      replyreport
6. 77

   dineaneposted 16 years ago

   Uninvited Writer said it EXACTLY! That said, I loved my 30s. Happy Birthday!

   replyreport
7. 58

   Mark Knowlesposted 16 years ago

   Unfortunately, you also find out in your 40s that everything you thought you knew in your 30s was wrong
   
   Welcome to 30 - happy birthday.
   
   Just think what the alternative would be - Not getting to 30

   replyreport
   1. 66

      hubby7posted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Unfortunately, you also find out in your 50's that everything you thought you knew in your 30's was wrong. Now if that's all true, it follows that John McCain should be president because once Obama becomes McCain's age, he will discover that everything he thought he knew in his 40's was just plain wrong! On that note, I think I had better vote for John McCain!
      
                              hubby7

      replyreport
8. 58

   Mark Knowlesposted 16 years ago

   Unfortunately, I understand that when you get to 70 you have forgotten everything you learned on the way. Which reminds me of a joke on a wall in a hospital I once worked at:
   
   "They tell you that when you get old you will lose your mind. What they don't tell you is......
   
   You won't miss it."

   replyreport
   1. 0

      SirDentposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      When I read that Mark I thought it would have made a greater impact if written like;
      
      "They tell you that when you get old you will lose your mind. What they don't tell you is......"

      replyreport
      1. 75

         Shadesbreathposted 16 years agoin reply to this

         Or even greater impact if it read:
         
         "They tell you that when you get old you will lose your mind.  What they don't tell you is .... where's my pants?"

         replyreport
9. 65

   Mishaposted 16 years ago

   Happy birthday Sweetie!

   replyreport
10. 65

    Dottie1posted 16 years ago

    You share the same birthday as my daughter Tracey who turned 19.  Happy Birthday, Sweetie and Tracey!

    replyreport
11. 85

    Zsuzsy Beeposted 16 years ago

    Happy birthday Sweetie Pie! All this advice and still you don't have the answer. When you turn 40 you will have to come back here and inform us if it's true that life starts at thirty.
    Wishing you a great and successful decade... regards Zsuzsy

    replyreport
12. 79

    SweetiePieposted 16 years ago

    Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone .

    replyreport
    1. 56

       Jerrico Usherposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       Happy birthday, I'm going to give you a hub wish. All you have to do is write a hub about all the major things you did that impacted your life positively over the last ten years, then push the publish button, in the 30 seconds or so it takes to actually publish the hub that is your chance to make a wish, if you complete your wish before the page reloads published (live) you'll get your birthhub wish. *wink*
       
       No cheating, you must not make your wish before you push publish and you cannot think about it until after you've pushed your button. Good Luck
       
       Jerrico

       replyreport
       1. 79

          SweetiePieposted 16 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks for the inspiration .

          replyreport
13. 62

    PLMposted 16 years ago

    Happy belated birthday chica!
    
    I would tend to agree with your view about 30's... I think somewhere in your 30's is when you first get your brains anyway.  I'm having a blast at 36 and things just keep getting better.   Maybe over the hill age will be this fun to?  I'm sure whatever life has in store for me, it'll be an adventure for sure.

    replyreport
    1. 79

       SweetiePieposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for the birthday wishes!

       replyreport
14. 78

    ripplemakerposted 16 years ago

    Hi Sweetie Pie, belated happy birthday!    How was it?  Hope it was a great one for you and wishing you another wonderful year ahead!  Hmmm thinking about your question "Does real life begin when you are 30?"  You are right  it's not the age but how you live your life.  Keep your bucket list alive   Take care...

    replyreport
15. 64

    Trekkiemelissaposted 16 years ago

    Happy belated Birthday sweetie.  I don't know about life starting at 30.  Like you and everyone else is saying its whatever you make of it.  I'm 30 and there are moments that I wish I was still in my twenties.  I only thing that is really different is how we think.

    replyreport
16. 79

    SweetiePieposted 16 years ago

    Thanks for wishes me a belated birthday .

    replyreport
17. 59

    Project Mobiusposted 16 years ago

    Happy belated bday, i'm like a week late. This thread actually gave me an idea of writing a hub when I turn 30, in 4 years lol. Actually 5 years, since I should give myself a year to "evaulate" my life at 30.

    replyreport
    1. 79

       SweetiePieposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       This sounds like a promising hub.  I look forward to reading it.

       replyreport
18. 61

    vitaebposted 16 years ago

    It was a shock when I turned 30. I felt I had finished with youth and now had to become a responsible person. No more fun. no more fooling around. Get serious, I said to myself.
    
    Well now I am 76 and am wondering if when I turn 80, will I finally feel grownup? And this is no joke, I feel younger than ever, feel as happy as ever, as adventurous. My attitude has been a key factor for staying alive to the aliveness of life. A big piece of this attitude aspect has to do with my avoiding cynicism. I believe cynicism is the real killer.
    
    Cheers for now...

    replyreport
19. 76

    Guru-Cposted 16 years ago

    Dear Sweetie Pie:
    
    My real life began at 50.  That's when my honey asked me to marry him.  He gave me an engagement ring on my 50th birthday.  Isn't that a sign that there are always good things on the horizon?
    
    I must say though, that 40 held wonderful breakthroughs, too.
    
    One of the things I liked about 30 was that people started to take me a little more seriously. 
    
    Twenty was, well, twenty.  As a teenager, twenty seemed like the Holy Grail (now it's 21, but in my time, the drinking age was 18).  Turning twenty was a bittersweet experience, with no party, no one home, but little presents scattered around the house for me to find.
    
    Ten was a confusing time, when I learned about the war in Viet Nam, extreme poverty, General Franco and the continuation of fascism.
    
    At five, I learned about nuclear bombs.
    
    I hope this helps.
    
    Best Regards,
    Cory

    replyreport
    1. 92

       Rochelle Frankposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       This is a wonderful answer. Every age has its  plusses and maybe a couple of minuses-- but mostly positive. These positives are what you have to look for... they are more nunerous than the regrets
       
       I wrote hubs about turning fifty-- which was the first time I thought a number might be negative (it was really a good productive time). I also wrote one about 60-- not all that bad.
       
       Decades somehow, seem more daunting, but if we never had a calendar-- who would know?

       replyreport
20. 74

    Mighty Momposted 16 years ago

    Some people say life begins at conception -- but that's another issue:-)
    These days 60 is supposedly the new 50; 50 is the new 40; 40 is the new 30, etc. Using that logic, you're really only 20 (not even legal)!
    Seriously, tho. Happy Birthday! In my experience, the trick is to embrace each day and not worry about what the calendar says, especially those milestone years.

    replyreport
21. 79

    SweetiePieposted 16 years ago

    I love all the answers people have given.  This is a very interesting thread.

    replyreport
22. 60

    terenceyap07posted 16 years ago

    To the people of Thailand, every twelves years of their lives is counted as one cycle. It is their belief that a person attains maturity on the 5th cycle at the age of 60. This literally means that I'm still considered a youngster at 48. LOL!
    
    *grins*

    replyreport
    1. 69

       Anna Marie Bowmanposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       I love that idea!!!  So, that means I would only be in the middle of the third cycle.  I am practically a baby!  LOL!  That made me smile!  Thanks, terence!!

       replyreport
       1. 60

          terenceyap07posted 16 years agoin reply to this

          You're most welcome, Anna Marie.
          
          *smiles*

          replyreport