The Trials and Tribulations of Turning 30

The Trials and Tribulations of Turning 30

I never used to understand why people get depressed around their birthdays. I mean it’s YOUR day to spend however you please and everyone gets to celebrate YOU. Well, I’m turning 30 this year and I finally understand what they feel.  So I wanted to dedicate today’s post to understanding those birthday blues and what we can do to combat them.

Usually, I spend the entire month of May celebrating my birthday with mini shopping sprees, brunch with my girlfriends, endless dinners, and a nice handbag. But this year, maybe because I was so busy traveling, that the month just kind of flew by and here we are.

The birthday blues are a real thing and I finally understand. Here are a few of the causes I found on the internet and in this article: 

• Being upset over aging another year
• Being disappointed by not having expectations met by a birthday party, celebration or gifts
• Feeling unsatisfied with accomplishments since the previous year or previous birthday
• Denial about your age or being upset over aging another year
• Societal expectations and pressure
• Expectations to have an epic “happy” birthday
• A feeling of failure
• Dysfunctional family dynamics

I can definitely relate to a few of these.  When I was in my early 20’s I thought I’d be married with a house a few kids by the time I hit 30. HAHAHA. Yea, THAT didn’t happen. But it doesn’t bother me because I am not in a rush to get married and I cannot even imagine having kids right now.

I am also not afraid to admit I am 30. Sure, I don’t have the alcohol tolerance or hang-over bounce back that I used to. But the confidence I have today versus my earlier years way outweighs the benefits of youth.

I think my birthday blues are a combination of the following:

• Societal AND personal expectations: I thought I would be much farther along in my career by now. I am insanely hard on myself. However, I have to remember that I only started blogging full-time just one year ago and building a company takes years, not months.
• I didn’t end up planning a big dirty thirty birthday bash with all my friends to some far off land like I thought I would. Instead, I ended up going to Paris (blog post here) and it was amazing.
• Missing my dad. My dad died about 3 and a half years ago, and for some reason, my birthday is just not the same without him.

But even with these birthday blues of turning 30, I am still going to make the most out of my special day.  Just know that if you feel this way around your birthday you are not alone and here are a few ways to combat those blues:

1. Take charge of your birthday and let everyone know it’s your special day.
2. Make plans for your birthday for what YOU want to do. It’s your day. If you want to binge watch TV and eat a chocolate cake to yourself then, by all means, DO it. I just want to get dressed up and have a nice dinner with my man.
3. Write down all the things you are thankful for.  I’m thankful for my family, friends, health, this blog and all of you to share it with.
4. Buy yourself something nice. I do this every year and it’s one of my favorite things. This year it was a trip to Paris, last year it was this amazing handbag.

Thank you for stopping by!

Take care,

Laura

SHOP MY LOOK:

ASOS dress // ICING jewelry + clutch // FOREVER21 heels

Photos by Taylor Schroeder