30 things I’ve learned at 30

I turned 30 last week and it felt like a foregone conclusion. Partly because I was dreading and/or anticipating the big 3-0 throughout my 29th year and partly because time has become an abstract concept during COVID.

I wanted to get off the hedonic treadmill for a second to reflect on the last three decades. There’s nothing I love more than lists; so here goes the list of 30 things I’ve learnt about myself and the world in the last 30 years.

  1. Love is worth the wait
  2. Books are my window to the world
  3. I write my emotions better than I can speak them
  4. Without music, my life feels empty
  5. The internet has shaped my identity for better or for worse
  6. You make your own family
  7. To some degree, we’re all prisoners of our birth
  8. If you choose right, friends don’t come and go; they stay
  9. Leaving home was hard, but staying would have been harder
  10. Learning is exercise for the brain, it makes me happy
  11. Exercise is exercise for the body, it makes me happy too
  12. Food is fuel and food is joy; food is not the enemy
  13. It can take a long, long time to feel comfortable in your own skin
  14. Based on historical averages, things that taste weird now will taste good in five years (see red wine, coffee, oysters)
  15. My work is a huge part of my life and I derive self-worth from it
  16. Personal aesthetics are a manifestation of the inner mind
  17. I don’t want to be a billionaire; it’s not worth the trouble
  18. If I set my mind to something, there’s a good chance I will make it happen
  19. Time > money, always
  20. My puppy fever > baby fever
  21. I have a stupidly low tolerance for unnecessary discomfort
  22. Celebrations and lovely meals with tipsy friends make the world go round
  23. Getting off Facebook and Instagram has freed my mind
  24. Expensive skincare pays dividends
  25. San Francisco is home now, it feels like home now
  26. Never buy a sub $20 bottle of wine
  27. It’s incredibly hard to change as an adult; I’m grateful I had the gift of good morals and habits (thanks parents!)
  28. Being generous with my time, money, and affection has paid back in spades
  29. When you look back at your life, all the dots will connect
  30. I’m still seeking my life’s purpose(s)

2 Comments

  1. Great piece Nikitha. I kinda resonate with almost all you wrote at 30. Connecting dots is surely a must. That is where your current purpose probably lies. You can help others connect more dots. You already started with this blog. Thanks for all your writings. Cheers to the new age.

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