Age and State of Mind

Today, I am 30. I feel no different from yesterday, really! It's an age that many people in their 20s fear. For me, it marks a new beginning. A chance to make things right. An opportunity to realise my dreams.

I remember, back in middle school, at the age of 13, I looked forward to turning 16. Sweet sixteen. The right of passage from being a girl to being a woman. There was the huge party with 16 candles and 16 roses. Dancing with dad during the father/daughter dance. It was a huge step! Something marked with a lot of food and drink!

After that, the big number was 18! At eighteen, here on Guam, you could party! With eighteen being the legal drinking age, it was something all young people look forward to! At eighteen, I could finally head in to a club without the worry of being caught! I could vote and get myself in to all sorts of trouble!

Then, 21!! At twenty-one, I could legally drink anywhere I lived! It was, officially, the age of freedom! The age that marks a milestone in all lives. The age where we are bound, legally, to all the decisions we make.

The dreaded 30! Most people have a fear of turning thirty. When you tell a teenager, 'I'm thirty', they always respond with, 'That's old!' I think that the fear of being called 'old' has most women, in particular, trembling! But, you see... Thirty is a big step.

I, for one, am planning on taking some huge steps this year. From vacationing as an adult to getting my life back on track. At 29, you're still at a dismissible age! The decisions we make up to that point at excusable by that fact that we are still young! 'Oh, that's OK, she's just in her 20s!' But, no longer, my friends. I am now fully accountable for the decisions I make from here on out!

I do have my whole life ahead of me! I am not old, by any standards! Being old is a state of mind, in my opinion. I like to think of being thirty as being mature. Being able to own up to my choices and become a better person because of them. I mark this day by making promises to myself to live a healthier and more productive life. To be able to look back on my 20s and shake my head and smile at the naivety of being young.

Who says that being thirty meant having to settle down and live a boring life? When I'm in my 60s, I will be able to look back at my life and realise that I've lived it to it's fullest. Today, my friends, marks a the beginning of the rest of my life.