Life Begins At 30 But Adulthood Begins At 31

A week before my 30th birthday I was bricking it! I felt that my life was over, that my youth had somehow surpassed before I was even ready to think about it, let alone start settling down and partying less. This didn't last though, the day of my 30th I woke up feeling amazing. I had had an epiphany. I was still the same man but felt like I was at the beginning of a new era. Like I had proved myself at life, that I had practiced being me throughout my 20s and now the practice was over I was ready to truly live life to the max. Lots of my friends have said they felt similar when they were 30. Its an awesome feeling if you get it, and is so true to what the big 30 is to us. Mainly nothing.

However amongst all this hype I have unfortunately discovered that the grass isn't always as green as we hoped. This new thing in my life, and darker side of this subject, is called being 31! I am now 31 and have realised that I have fallen from the dizzy heights of 'just 30' to the slightly less glamorous 'early 30s'. I actually feel the same, like I have a whole lot of life left in me and am not ready for nature to take it away yet. Like I want to party all weekend and roll into my flat at 2pm on a Sunday. The problem is that I can't help but notice that things have changed. Physically! My toenails are thicker! I know, gross! my nostril hairs are growing at an exponential rate, I have to work harder at the gym, when I drink I look old in the face and I'm going deaf in my right ear! But most of all, throughout all this is the fact that because I have now lived for 3 decades, the years that go by are now so regular, and so quick, and keep coming without relenting or even pausing to think about it. All of this shouts out to me. 40 Is Nigh!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its scary but this is adulthood to me, not a change in the way I feel, or who I am inside, or how I run my life, but simply that my body is ageing, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it except realise that I might be running out of time to do the things I want and should maybe start doing them.

And there we have it, a seamless and un-noticed side-step into settling down! I must be mindful of my thoughts!