I’ve heard it since I turned 21. The phrase, “You know you’re 30 when…” which typically is accompanied by a reference to purchasing home decor, drinking wine at home instead of going out or being asleep by 10 p.m. on a Friday night.
And as young 20-somethings do, we’d roll our eyes and think, “Okay, that’s never going to happen to me. I will be forever young and will never grow out of my partying ways. This is WHY I moved to a city.”
Except just like the inevitable fate that lurks around every corner of adulthood, I just turned 28, which means I’m patiently waiting to become boring. Or am I? Society wants us to think we’re becoming old hags, but maybe if you look at the differences from my early 20’s to now, we’re really becoming younger.
Starting with…
1. Fashion
If you knew me at age 12, my fashion staple was a tattoo choker necklace with a dangling diamond on it. I would put my hair up in a tight ballerina bun, too. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? That’s because ribbons, chokers and even that hairstyle are back to being cool. Somehow even body suits, high-waisted mom jeans, and the sweet Steve Madden chunky sandal are making their way back into fashion.
Talk about the validation I was looking for that 30 really is the new 13.
2. Alcohol Tolerance
Remember when you went to your first party at 18 (maybe younger) and your first beer equated to the craziest night of your life of table top dancing and introduced you to the drunk woo-girl syndrome? Yeah, me too. I also am all too familiar with this feeling now. Gone are the days of having a tolerance like a sailor in college and here are the times where three glasses of wine warrant me an Uber ride home.
Sure you could say it’s because I’m old and don’t party as much, but I like to think my younger party days are coming back into play.
3. Face Masks
I remember the days where my friends would have a sleepover in Jr. High and we would all buy candy, soda, nail polish and face masks. It was the fun and cool thing to do back then. Put on a bunch of green face cream, pre-puberty, (we had faces of porcelain dolls at the time) and take pictures with our masks on.
I still do that, which makes me young. The only difference is that besides face masks, I also have to use eye cream and moisturizer to help prevent said old age’s arrival. While I am still married, my friends and I have been guilty of still having girls night with face mask and wine. You could argue not that much has changed.
4. Working Out
Growing up I was always very active between running track and snowboarding to spending hours at the studio and gym for ballet and jazz classes. Even in college, I would attend group workout sessions at the recreation center. I never imagined that post college life would be so similar to how I grew up. With apps like Classpass and Groupon, I can find classes like yoga or even hip-hop dance classes with the swipe of my finger. Yes, group workout classes are not a thing of the past, but our generation, in true millennial fashion, obsesses over things like cycle bar and running clubs. That said, I’m working out now potentially more than I did as a kid.
Millennials are definitely guilty for reminiscing about the good ol’ days and love posts about nostalgia (which has basically kept Buzzfeed alive.) Regardless, I feel like time has caught up with all of us and that even as we age and get closer to 30, our youth remains the same.
