Another birthday...

One more birthday draws near - and I approach the exact middle of my 30s - 35.
When I was 10 - 30 was a long way away - only really old people were over 30. Amazingly this perception remained constant till I was even in my mid-late 20s. Maybe its just an Indian thing - we assume life after 30 is boring, and actually devoid of any fun completely. My younger siblings look at me as if I'm old fashioned and have started clubbing me with my parents. Its amusing - nice not to be clubbed with the immature activities of 20 somethings.

At 25 I thought I had reached the epitome of adult hood. I was smart enough ( so I thought ) to make any kind of decision independently. Part of me felt this way, since I was working, and had job responsibilities. New confidence at the workplace spills over in life too - of course thats the honeymoon period of your career - everyone in your batch starting out together, at the same position. Everything is nice - not much politics at the workplace, no exams and more money than we ever handled before. Its all just one big party.

And now today - I look back and I think life begins only in your 30s. I was married, with a kid - and juggling life - REAL life. Many of the idiocies one thinks are ok, suddenly come into perspective after your child is born. The 30s is when we finally start to contribute to our workplace - bring in changes and are in control. We have the maturity since we have seen disappointments at work and in life and worked hard to move on. And for most of use who are married - we are not obsessed with marriage, peer pressure and crazy ideas based on pop culture. If you ask me - the voting age should be raised to 30!

I am now doing things which I always wanted to, but never did. I got my Masters degree, learnt swimming & yoga(even pilates), took long drives and traveled, even learnt how to play the piano (just the basics - but still worth a mention), bought a new house, learnt better cooking, realized the importance of human history and read alot more - the list is endless. Next week I'm starting Tae Kwon Do, at my son's academy. And romance doesn't disappear... ;)
I still am amazed at the pop culture in which we grow up thinking life ends at 30.

To sum it up - My teenage was boring and overburdened by exams, my 20s was embarrassing - my 30s have actually turned out to be satisfying!