I Turn 30 in 2026

I turn 30 this year and I never felt better.

They weren’t kidding, whoever made the saying, “Age is just a number”. When you reach a certain age and lived long enough to not sweat over the small stuff, growing up more feels natural, like you’re just reaching another phase in life as you have done previously. I’ve never been one to care so much about ageing, I’m lucky enough that I grew up with family that don’t pressure me to feel a certain way about a number. But turning 30, just like when I turned 10 and 20 all those years ago, is like an exciting start to something.

I don’t know what it is yet, but it feels better than new years and the annual resolutions refresh. This is another decade of me exploring myself with my loved ones in a big wide world.

I was looking for inspiration on how to approach this news to my readers. I found other blogs that talked about “turning 30 and what to look for”, “turning 30 and things I learned”. Honestly, I could go on but I don’t have the brain fuel to make such a dedicated long list. I’ve just turned 30, which I still feel is a relatively young age to harness so much experience and wisdom to share. I don’t have that many just yet but here are some reflections I feel that might be relevant and meaningful.

• I’m definitely wiser than I used to be. I’m not too quick to form judgements of myself or others because from experience, things really aren’t as they seem sometimes. Life is full of drama and it’ll always be that way, it’s just a matter of if we want to care about it to put in our priority list or simply acknowledge it and move on.

• I know my boundaries and act on them. I think I was a chronic people pleaser in my early twenties. I was afraid to make a mistake (which I ended up doing half the time) because it would make me look incompetent or not trying hard enough. But these days, I would simply do my utmost best from the get-go (anxiety, excitement and all) and whatever happens, I let it rest to fate. I know I can always be better, and I will be but according to my pace, not only upon the expectations of others. I can now say “no” or “alright, maybe later” without guilt and you’re right, it isn’t easy. It took years of practice before it comes easily like that, but it can happen.

• I’m open about my mental health. This was fairly recent when I published posts about my current diagnosis and my medication. When I first started this journey behind the scenes, it felt all hush-hush and maybe it was for the best because I was still figuring out how I felt about my condition, seeing myself differently, letting others in on what was happening with me, and how I function on a day-to-day basis. I wasn’t yet ready to make it public until I felt for sure I have both feet firm on the ground and comfortable and stable enough to say so.

• Books are life. They were intricately a part of me in my childhood because it was the far few things that allowed me to feel truly free. I let my imagination be formed to the stories I read and travelled through hundreds of worlds and met interesting characters in these adventures. I almost completely stopped this hobby (it felt like it’s more than just one!) when I started university, what with the assignment workload, extracurricular events, and also the constant distraction to my phone. I didn’t have the time nor the interest to slow down and just read. However, I was always curious on what it was like to wind down just a little, it felt like I was always missing something in life. Something I did so easily as a child. I slowly started picking up books again. It started with just one or two read books a year, and now, I read 15 books a year! I’m also an avid bookshopper (ehem) and always collecting new titles I think would interest me to read later.

• Having pets was the best decision I made. I live with three amazing cats, one girl and two boys, and I swear they feel like family to me. I don’t think I can live a day without snuggling and finding comfort from my lovely fur-babies and they for me.

Truth be told, I’m excited and nervous for the future, regardless of its many ups and downs, but I know I can always anticipate the best to come. What matters most is that I still have myself and there’s plenty of room in life to explore whatever I feel like it.