It’s hard to believe that five years have passed since I
documented the milestone of turning 25 and subsequently went through my, “quarter-life
crisis”. For me, 25 was a time of vast uncertainty- no serious boyfriend and no
set career path (although I did have a mountain of student loan and credit card
debt to keep me warm at night). Now at 30, I’ve successfully managed to carve
out a nice life for myself (void of pawning gold jewelry to make rent
and using a change jar as a retirement fund). While my life is a lot more
relaxed and comfortable than it was in those days, every decade seems to have
its own set of challenges.
Buying a Home
Something about turning 30 makes you realize you’d rather
put the better portion of your annual income into equity in a home rather than
forking it over in rent to a stranger. When my boyfriend and I realized just
how much money we were paying our landlord over the course of a year, it just
made sense to start looking for a home. But as fun as it is scouring over
realtor.com, we got a serious gut check when our lender gave us our actual
pre-approval numbers. Everyone these days wants the “Joanna Gaines Special”
complete with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, an open floor plan and that damned farmhouse
sink that’s suddenly so popular. But unfortunately, we don’t live in Waco,
Texas and it costs a hell of a lot more in our town to buy the American Dream.
We definitely can’t afford to buy in the zip codes with the best school zoning,
and even if there were any “fixer uppers” left in that area, the taxes are so
damn high we’d have to tear down the existing home and use our coveted lot to
build a cardboard box mansion just to get by. So instead, we’re looking in what
HGTV calls a “renaissance” neighborhood, meaning that it’s up and coming (you
hope). If the market continues to do well, a house in that neighborhood could
potentially double its value over the next ten years. If not, you end up living
next to a trap house and have to hire the local crack dealer to mow your lawn.
No big deal.
Signs of Aging
I don’t think I was mentally (and definitely not physically) prepared for the changes that start happening to your body once you hit 30.
Everything seems to be just fine, and then one day your back is sore and you
realize it’s from your pillow. In my twenties, I could use a pillow purchased at
HomeGoods on clearance while sleeping in a contorted pretzel shape and be just
fine the next day. Now, I suddenly need a chiropractor and a Posturepedic to
get a comfortable night of sleep. Oh, and let’s not forget about skin care. The
newly formed wrinkles/general sagginess under my eyes have all but ruled out
selfies from ever happening again. It now takes a combination of highly
expensive eye creams and a filter with no less than 75% added brightness to
give me a glimpse of my former youth.
The Paradox of
Children
I was never one of those girls with a five year plan for my
life, but I always assumed I would have children (or “child”, singular). Now at
30, the old biological clock is ticking, and I’m pretty sure it’s actually
speeding up. My boyfriend and I are not yet engaged or married, so children are
still conceivably (see what I did there?) a few years down the road. I have to
admit that while my mind is not made up, my perspective on children has
changed. It’s not that I don’t want children, it’s just that I think I would also
be OK not having children. The jury is still out on whether or not I’ll end up
with a little rug rat or not, but I’m pretty sure the cat wants me to have a
baby for the sole purpose that I leave him the F* alone.
Even with everything said, I really can’t complain too much
about 30. I mean, I’m not using my credit card to buy toothpaste and I don’t
pay rent to someone in my own family. I also have a great job, a wonderful
boyfriend, and my credit score is finally in a positive category instead of
the, “abandon all hope and become a stripper” range. If the last five years
have taught me anything, it’s this: Every time of your life will have its fair share
of ups and downs. Find the humor, find your strength, and for God’s sake don’t
pawn off all your gold jewelry- it will probably be worth more down the road
anyway.
