It's been a really long time since I last posted something that's not about what's going on in our lives. But, I just have to today.
Turning 30 has really made me think about all of the expectations and stereotypes we (our culture as a whole) have for one another. My friend turned 30 in May and really hated it. I asked her why and she and I talked about the different expectations for people in their thirties as opposed to people in their twenties. Almost as if turning thirty means that you can't use certain phrases (my friend used "awesome," "totally," and "cool" as examples), or you can't act a specific way.
It makes me sad to think that we let our culture and society dictate how we feel about ourselves to the extent that when we have a birthday we don't want to acknowledge our age or be happy about turning a year older. True, there are specific traits, limitations, and behaviors that belong to certain decades (for example, I don't expect anyone younger than 10 to act or speak like a 30- or 40-year-old; likewise, I can't imagine an 80-year-old jumping around and running like there's no tomorrow like a teenager does nowadays). But, does it mean that because I am thirty I can't say specific words or phrases, or that I can't wear embellished t-shirts or cute things in my hair?
Our personalities dictate who we are, not our age! If I want to wear my hair in braids, I'm going to do it ... regardless of the fact that my daughters' hair can't even be put in braids and their haircuts are seen on more women my age than my own. If I want to say, "That's awesome!" or "Cool", I'm going to say it even if the teenagers around me look at me ike I'm dorky. If I want to dance around in my kitchen to music by the Disney Channel stars, or quote High School Musical, I'm going to do it. And, yes, I'm thirty-years-old now and according to our "culture" that would make me a dork. I don't care ... bring on the dorky years; I mean, bring on the 30-something years.
Turning 30 has really made me think about all of the expectations and stereotypes we (our culture as a whole) have for one another. My friend turned 30 in May and really hated it. I asked her why and she and I talked about the different expectations for people in their thirties as opposed to people in their twenties. Almost as if turning thirty means that you can't use certain phrases (my friend used "awesome," "totally," and "cool" as examples), or you can't act a specific way.
It makes me sad to think that we let our culture and society dictate how we feel about ourselves to the extent that when we have a birthday we don't want to acknowledge our age or be happy about turning a year older. True, there are specific traits, limitations, and behaviors that belong to certain decades (for example, I don't expect anyone younger than 10 to act or speak like a 30- or 40-year-old; likewise, I can't imagine an 80-year-old jumping around and running like there's no tomorrow like a teenager does nowadays). But, does it mean that because I am thirty I can't say specific words or phrases, or that I can't wear embellished t-shirts or cute things in my hair?
Our personalities dictate who we are, not our age! If I want to wear my hair in braids, I'm going to do it ... regardless of the fact that my daughters' hair can't even be put in braids and their haircuts are seen on more women my age than my own. If I want to say, "That's awesome!" or "Cool", I'm going to say it even if the teenagers around me look at me ike I'm dorky. If I want to dance around in my kitchen to music by the Disney Channel stars, or quote High School Musical, I'm going to do it. And, yes, I'm thirty-years-old now and according to our "culture" that would make me a dork. I don't care ... bring on the dorky years; I mean, bring on the 30-something years.
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