I remember vividly dreading turning 30. I’m not quite sure what I thought might happen (I’d get swallowed up by some black hole?!). But I remember just not being able to even talk about my 30th birthday for a while.
I think a lot of it stemmed from the fact that my 20s were pretty wild. Not the going out partying kind of wild but just INTENSE. A lot of life experience happened to me in one decade and I wasn’t sure I could handle another decade like it! Turning 30 felt pivotal.
Now who knows how my 30s will pan out? But so far, I am LOVING it. One year in, as a 31-year-old, I can say this is one of my favourite ages to be. There’s something strangely liberating actually about having gone through a lot so young. A lot of hard life lessons are learned and emotional resilience is built fairly quickly. And although it sounds doom and gloom, unless an apocalypse happens, on a personal note, it doesn’t get much worse than experiencing traumatic and sudden grief. What do they say? -What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! I’ve leveled up and anything else life presents me, well - I’m made of some pretty strong stuff!
So, I’m 31 and loving it but - and don’t roll your eyes if you’re older… - becoming older (albeit not old) AND having experienced some pretty tough stuff, does make you realise how short life is. As well as being fascinated with death (go back and read my previous blog on this before you become concerned!), I’m also very fascinated with life. Sadly, there are no guarantees and as I’m sure many of you know, we’re not necessarily promised a tomorrow. I know, I know, some heavy stuff - but it doesn’t need to be. Life is for living and that’s what I’m here to do.
Intertwined with my interest in life (and death), I’ve found some interesting studies that show the importance of trying new things as you get older. While I’m way off getting a free bus pass, I’m very aware of how sacred life is and so I’m buying into this notion of trying new things. It keeps life interesting, it’s good for your mind, and there is science to show that it can help you live longer and healthier lives. I’m sold!
This is where the original purpose of this post comes in. I am becoming a Rebel. Not an obnoxious, ‘lets cause trouble for trouble’s sake’ kind of rebel. No a Rebel as part of the Rebel Badge Club which is effectively Brownies/Scouts for grown-ups. You earn badges for learning new skills and taking on new challenges. Made for me? I think so! Book and accompanying journal bought and I’m on my way to starting my first badges.
This blog is a space where I brain dump any musings I might have about life. I’ll also now be using it to document my Rebel Badge Club progress and as a way of accountability. In fact, one of the first badges I’ll be working on is my Writer’s Badge,by consistently writing in this blog. I’ll also be working on my Investors Badge - namely because it’s so out there and I have no idea what the stock market is so could be fun! And finally, I’ll be working on the Linguistics Badge because I really need to re-learn some languages that I learned at school - whoops!
So here we go…let the fun commence!
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