Most People Get Humbled By The Same 6 Experiences By The Time They Turn 30
GalacticDreamer / Shutterstock Turning 30 is a time where many people feel like they've finally come into their own. They know who they are and what they want, and it wasn't easy getting there.
After struggling so much throughout their teens and 20s, those wild disappointments and heartbreaks feel worth it. Even mistakes can be valuable in this phase. These experiences build strength and resilience while humbling you enough to remind you what's truly important.
Most people get humbled by there 6 experiences by the time they turn 30:
1. Wanting to go home early from a night out
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In one's early 20s, going out is seen as an essential, life-affirming experience where you just never want the night to end. But once people start approaching 30, they start seeing going out into the early hours of the morning as more optional than necessary.
Regardless of whether they're introverts or extroverts, a lot of socializing can be exhausting, especially late at night. By 10 pm, curling up in bed looks like the very best option for a good time.
As people grow older, in general, they start realizing the benefits of staying in and getting a good night's rest. They start actually being drawn home instead of the dance floor as a result, and quickly realize that not having a hangover the next day makes life even better.
2. Going through a major heartbreak
While high school sweethearts are still very much a thing, and those teenage heartbreaks can be brutal, there's something universally humbling and perspective-shifting about experiencing a major heartbreak in your 20s. Whether it's from a partner who did something awful, or you get dumped seemingly out of nowhere, it's a truly painful experience.
It's also very humbling to realize, in your 20s, that you're not sure what you want in a partner. Sometimes, your hopes and dreams change dramatically, and then you find yourself breaking someone else's heart, which can be excruciating.
However, by the time people hit 30 they're more self-assured and know themselves more, especially if they've struggled in a relationship or two up to that point. Because of this, they can better pinpoint who is worth sticking around for and who isn't.
3. Starting to not understand slang
With so much of our lives being experienced online, slang words and phrases are evolving at a breakneck speed. When approaching 30, even if one considers themselves to be cool or even "chronically online," new slang will creep up on you, and there's something so humbling about hearing younger people use slang that you've never heard of before.
The playful and scrambling minds of the youth just far exceed that of a more steady 30-something year old. This is why younger people are so quick to come up with and assign meanings to new words and phrases that make older people scratch their heads at first. It's a humbling experience to realize you're one of those older people!
4. Making barely any money in your early 20s
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We're told our entire lives to go to school. We're especially encouraged to go to college or a trade school in order to increase our ability to earn a good living. But once school is over, it's like, what's next?
The humbling reality is that you still need years of experience under your belt before you can make the big bucks in your field of study.
That first pay check at an entry level position is absolutely humbling. Not only that, you're also expected to pay back student loans (unless you had wealthy parents or a very rare full-ride scholarship). To add insult to injury, once you reach 26, you'll be kicked of your parents' health insurance and you have to buy your own. Yikes!
As a result, money is being taken out of your paycheck at a shocking rate and you wonder, throughout your 20s, if you'll ever have savings or get free from debt. Fortunately, by the time you're 30, you've been working long enough to establish yourself a little in your career. You may even have set aside a few dollars in a saving's account as a result of those humbling years crying over all your negative balances.
5. Telling people your age and them being shocked
What's deeply humbling is when other people can't hide their shock when you tell them your age. Whether they think you're significantly younger or older, not being able to be recognized by age anymore is an experience that not many people can escape from no matter how good your skin care routine is.
Even more humbling is when people are shocked to know where you're at in life despite your age once you turn 30. Things like not having kids, being single, not owning a home or a car, and still owing money on your student loans can shock people from older generations who entered the world in a very different financial setting.
These are all markers of approaching 30 that people can't seem to stop passing judgement on if you don't have them. Hopefully by then you're a little more immune to their judgment and know that your path is just fine for you.
6. No longer bouncing back from hard workouts or injuries
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Possibly the most humbling experience of all is when your body starts to literally demand that you take care of it more. In your teens and early 20s, the body is much better able to take a beating from things like lack of sleep and eating a ton of junk food. But when you start approaching 30, it's just not the same.
Your knees start to pop more, your back starts to ache more, headaches become commonplace. Medical experts start telling you that you need to start taking these things seriously. Taking care of yourself at 30 is a necessity that can cost you everything at 70 if you're not careful.
Luke Aliga is a writer with a degree in Technical Writing and Communication who covers relationships, culture, and human-interest topics.
