At 34, I’ve never been more sure of who I am, who I want to be with and where I’m headed. Here’s what it means to enter your mid-thirties.
On my last night in Paris, my best friend Mathilde reminded me that this would be the shortest birthday I would have. I’d hop on the plane in the morning, and thirteen hours later I would land in Taipei, Taiwan and it would already be the next day.
Since this would be the shortest birthday, I’m doing something which I’ve never done thus far with a founder’s note. I’m making a list, keeping it short and sweet. Exactly how my birthday would be.
At 34, I’ve never been more sure of who I am, who I want to be with and where I’m headed. Here’s what it means to enter your mid-thirties:
10. You no longer have BS friends. Sure, there are more than a few cocktail parties where you’ve gotta mingle with “acquaintances”, but you know who your true friends are. At this point, they’ve stuck by you for more than a decade and you would do anything for them. They are worth the time investment, not those who you make fake plans with.
9. Living life to the fullest doesn’t mean experimenting with temporary pleasures but it’s so much more about bettering yourself as a human being with profound experiences and reflect upon insights that make you truly fulfilled. What’s going to make you happy? Do it.
8. At times, you may judge yourself for being cynical when it comes to the prospect of relationships. But in the end, you know what you want and you simply won’t settle for anything else. That, in fact, is a very good thing.
7. Your gut tells you so much, you’ve finally learned to follow it…religiously.
6. You can see your future. Even if you can’t visualize in exact forms, you can sorta sketch it out. You know what you’ve got, and you know where you’re going. For now, it’s all about timing. Hmm, if only life was as easy as going to school…
5. You’ve grown to become a good listener because you’ve learned that everyone wants to know they matter, and so do you.
4. Since when did you start traveling for food instead of booze? Since thirty happened.
3. When someone asks why are you still single, why aren’t you married or why don’t you have kids; you’ve already flipped them off a few times in your head.
2. Everyday, it’s becoming more clear that external beauty will go. As you pull that rebellious grey hair, you’ve decided to work on your internal beauty which perfectly translates to the glow in your stride. Now, that’s the new sexy.
1. Live everyday like it’s your birthday, because every moment of life, even the excruciating ones, is worth celebrating. In any minute, it can be gone.
So live, laugh & love for at least a few more 34 years,
