" One day , you ’ll throw your back out doing something mundane — and will live in veneration of it forever and a day . "

1.“You know yourself better and don’t care that much anymore what others think of you!”

2.“I’m 40 now so they’re both gone. My 30s were about maturing, whereas my 20s were about avoiding maturing.”

— uracil / tokedalot

3.“I realize now that I didn’t know half as much as I thought I did.”

— uranium / sincerelyduffy

4.“Everything takes a little bit longer to recover from. It takes a bit more work to regulate oneself. You need to make sure you’re sleeping, exercising, eating right, and cutting down on drink/drugs.”

5.“Kids taking up all my time. I had nothing but time in my 20s. Despite working full time, my husband and I still had time for video games, cooking elaborate meals, reading, friends, various hobbies, travel, and even naps! Now, I have to get up at 5 a.m. just to be able to find 30 minutes to work out.”

— u / underthesea622

6.“My unrealized life goals are more disappointing.”

— atomic number 92 / intelligent_might902

" I had that as I was approaching / off 30 , but shortly after , I came to the conclusion that my finish were BS to begin with , either there to impress others or put there because others told me I should .

When I reevaluated the goal rather of myself , I feel a passel better . "

A person in an orange shirt reads a book while eating a meal at a wooden table. A smartphone and a drink with ice are beside the meal

— uranium / mikemtb09

7.“I’m asked, ‘When are you getting married?’ and ‘When are you having children? far more frequently.”

8.“I wasted my 20s trying to convince this loser I was worth it. I turned 30 and decided to convince myself that I was worth it. So many doors have opened up for me, and I’m finally coming into my own.”

— u / emerg3ncyglitt3r

9.“More money, a lot more fun, enjoying having reached the goals I was striving towards in my 20s. The only downside is seeing your parents get old.”

— u / natnguyen

" Seeing my parents getting old and elderly is grievous . "

— u / seravirab

Person lying in bed, wearing an eye mask, and covered with a blanket. A mug and phone are on a bedside table nearby

10.“More creaking and aches and pains. One day, you’ll throw your back out doing something mundane and will live in fear of it forever.”

11.“20s: I needed to go out when I had free time. 30s: I need to stay in to recover when I have free time.”

— u/2014olympicgold

12.“Everyone goes through life differently, but the second half of my twenties were the roughest for me in terms of anxiety. Maybe this is when I was really transitioning into being an adult, and getting out of college was like a big dose of oh shit, what now? I’m 33 now and so much happier. Like others have said, you know what you do and don’t like, and don’t feel pressured to go with the crowd as much anymore. Your social circle gets smaller, life hopefully gets smaller too but in a good way (less complicated), and you start to focus on only the things that really matter to you. It’s nice. Get off social media and simplify your life.”

— uracil / mtgdrummer13

13.“Your 30s is when you begin reaping what you sowed in your 20s. Both good and bad. Made smart health choices? Congrats, you’re going to feel much better physically on a day-to-day basis than people who sat around eating junk food. Neglected being serious about self-improvement or career stuff? Well, 30s is when that comes home to roost. Basically, every action you take in your 20s is a deposit in the bank of what you want your 30s to be.”

14.“When you are a teenager, you begin to understand how the world works, but you don’t really know why it works that way. In your 20s, you begin to understand why things are the way they are, but you still don’t really feel like you are a part of it yet (‘I don’t feel like an adult, lol’). In my 30s, I feel very much like a grown-ass adult. I have a la whole heap of responsibilities, a little more money, and increasingly I just want most people to fuck off and leave me alone. I expect my 40s will be more of the latter.”

— u / mothergoose729729

" XL dude here .

Yuuuup . "

Two individuals sitting on grass, their hands gently touching, one wearing a denim jacket and the other a yellow corduroy jacket. Names not provided

— uracil / sonofthefiregod

15.“Self-awareness. I’ve become more self-aware and confident in who I am. My 30s have brought a better understanding of my values, goals, and what I want out of life. There’s a greater sense of knowing myself and what truly matters. Priorities: My priorities have shifted. While my 20s were often about exploring, experimenting, and figuring things out, my 30s have been more about solidifying goals, focusing on personal and professional growth, and building a stable foundation.”

— u / belated - sale7941

16.“The good: a lot less self-conscious, you realize you don’t have to impress everyone and can focus your attention on being your genuine Mixed: I’ve found the time and distance from childhood has helped me unpack a lot of stuff that happened when I was a kid/teen. It’s both healing and also painful to work through. The bad: back pain, lol.”

17.“Your 30s is when the big shift in gears occurs. 20s were all about going out, doing stuff, meeting people, going on adventures, figuring out WHAT you want to do with your life. 30s is when, ideally, you have figured much of that, ‘What do you want to do?’ Instead of running around crazy, you move with a purpose and a general idea of where you want to be and go. Instead of going out to a club where you know no one, you want to go instead to hang out with the key friends and loved ones you have assembled. Instead of dating 4,000 people, you feel that desire to settle down and find real love. Instead of being fine living off of ramen noodles and living with three other roommates to split the rent in a craphole apartment, you want to get your own place and make it nice.”

" It ’s light to say thing ' slow down , ' but that s really not true at all . It ’s a shifting of gears because the realism is you are still hustle to get all those thing ; it ’s just you are wasting less time and effort on the wastes of time and you do it considerably what you need to be doing and NOT be doing . "

— uracil / wlane13

18.“It’s less ‘world is your oyster’ and more, this is it, I guess. Although it’s not too late to start new things, your options do narrow somewhat.”

— u / successful_mix_9118

" That ’s how most people see it , but I do n’t think it has to be that path . Yes , your options do narrow-minded , but there ’s still an almost measureless amount of things you’re able to spend time on . Just because you did n’t get a stage in something does n’t mean the last 10 years of your life were for naught . you may easily transition that feel somewhere else .

Except for pro mutation . That room access is exclude for good . "

A person in a casual shirt and shorts sitting on a chair, holding their lower back in apparent discomfort next to a laptop on a desk

— u / riccarjo

19.“Deep into alcoholism in my 20s vs. sober and loving life in my 30s (I’m 37 and sobered up at 29). I still feel like I’m playing catch up on life, but overall, I’m happy, have a wonderful girlfriend, a good job, and have a lot of fun doing things without booze.”

20.“In my 30s, I started to realize and internalize the idea that most of my bad experiences with others (family, friends, neighbors) weren’t as personal as I JUDGED them to be.”

— u / ricouer_da_rules

21.And finally, “Enough perspective to look back at some situations with a different viewpoint. The coolest person in high school? Actually, they were an embarrassing anal gland of a human. Parents? They could have bought cars and gone toHawaii, but instead, we went to college. That person in college who marched to their own beat? They figured it out early.”

— uracil / typesett

A group of people, including a woman in a blue shirt, practice yoga on mats in a grassy outdoor area

A man with a beard and wavy hair, wearing a casual hooded shirt, sits outdoors and writes in a notebook

A smiling couple, the woman in a green sweater and the man with a bun in an orange shirt and apron, cooking together in a cozy kitchen