I have plenty of thoughts about turning 30.
Most of them have to do with how unprepared I am about entering this next decade of my life. I still live with my parents, having never had a driver’s license, obtained a Bachelor’s Degree, gotten married, or been in a serious romantic relationship. If I could, I would probably hold this birthday back for a while, maybe another year or two until I’m at least able to obtain enough credit to rent an apartment with roommates, so I could still have some time to accomplish more before having to get older so quickly.
But with things being as they are, I must accept the fact that I’ve now left my twenties behind and only have a few years left of being a young adult. There’s still much I want to accomplish, but at least I know I’m not completely alone, and that I still managed to make a couple of accomplishments which I shouldn’t overlook so easily.
For instance, I started attending community college at the age of 19 after taking a year off from going to school, during which I got to participate in both the college’s literary magazine and the student leadership council, even getting officer positions in both student organizations. This was also the time when I got some poetry published in the literary magazine, which encouraged me to pursue a possible career in writing. I did well in most of my classes in addition to extracurriculars, but in terms of financial growth and employment, I was not able to do much with either on account of never being hired for a regular job during my four years as a student, which I think did a lot to hinder any further opportunities for accomplishments.
Upon graduating from community college, I started working with a job coach to find employment, and after months of trying, I first got a seasonal position at Target and then got a job conducting surveys at C&C Market Research, where I stayed for four years. The latter job allowed me to interact regularly with clients by conducting surveys related to movie trailers, food, and beauty products, but it did not provide me with a stable schedule and only paid minimum wage, so it wasn’t as good a job as it could have been otherwise, but because I didn’t want to have to go through the struggles of being unemployed again, as well as the struggles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to remain there.
Last year, I applied to a store called Last Chance, which is affiliated with Nordstrom, almost on a whim; I responded to a brief application on Indeed and nearly thought I wouldn’t get a response before I got a phone call for an interview. I ended up getting hired, resulting in me getting my first full time job and the highest salary I’ve had so far. I’ve been working here for over a year now, and I now get health care coverage and paid time off. I still hope to be able to further advance career, but I’m fine with remaining where I am for now. With prices and the cost of living continuing to go up, I need to maintain any job I can get.
And starting in 2021, I started traveling more regularly after years of rarely leaving my home state, going to Hawaii, Miami, and Puerto Rico, then to Orlando in 2022, Cancun in 2023, and to Mexico City and Paris this year. And just two weeks ago, I joined my family on a two-day vacation to Las Vegas, during which we saw a performance from Santana at the House of Blues, explored the casinos, and saw parts of the city through a bus tour, which allowed me to experience some enjoyment before my birthday as well as after a major election. My family and I decided to start traveling more often after a family trip of ours had been canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, which made my family realize just how much we’d missed out on traveling together over the years, resulting in us deciding to take advantage of more travel opportunities once the pandemic had eased a little. Because of this, getting to travel regularly is another thing I managed to accomplish in my 20s, and it’s something I hope to continue doing in my 30s.
So while there’s still much I need to accomplish, I can still claim to have made some achievements while in my 20s. What I have to do is recognize what I need to work on so that it’s easier for me to get ahead now that I’m older, and in my case, it might require me to avoid always doing what I’m told, which could involve visiting certain places all on my own more often, staying out late every once in a while, or perhaps just clean up around the house without being told beforehand.
As for my writing, although I’ve had less time to write regularly these days, I have no intention of giving it up anytime soon. Even if I don’t update regularly, I’ll still take some time to put up essays, short stories, or maybe even chapters of a novel whenever I can. I can’t say for sure whether I can pursue a career in writing but seeing how most writers get their first novel published when they’re past the age of 30, there might still be some time for me to make it. But no matter what happens, I think I will always be writing. It’s more than just a hobby for me, after all, but rather a way to express what goes on in my mind in a way that is both productive and fun. And when socializing and other activities prove to be a challenge for me, this is the activity that comes closest to serving as a niche for me. So, I intend to write often and hopefully improve on my ability to write well and in a way that always me to connect with others, especially those in similar situations as I’m in.
Now we shall see what my 30s will have in store for me.
Great read. Never give up ❤️