6 Lessons You’ll Learn By The Time You Reach 30
Yuliia Tretynychenko

Truths You Should Accept By The Time You’re 30

Some people aren’t meant to remain in your world forever. You were warned that some of your old friendships wouldn’t last, and it’s sadly true. Certain people aren’t going to linger in your universe – but you might not have a falling out. You might gradually grow apart. But that’s okay because there will be people who stick around, too. And people who will cross paths with you again after years of separation. Your friendships might not last right now. But they can come back again.

Relationships require a ton of effort. Your relationship shouldn’t be stressing you out – but it shouldn’t be a walk in the park either. If you’re serious about each other, you need to be there for each other. You need to support each other. Comfort each other. Communicate clearly with each other. Compromise with each other. Learn and grow and change with each other. If you want a relationship to last, then you need to put in the effort. And the other person does too.

Your dreams might take longer to reach than you realize. When you were younger, you might have had a vision about what your life would look like at this age. But it wasn’t realistic. The fact that you haven’t reached your destination yet doesn’t mean that you’re a failure. It simply means that you need more time. But the biggest dreams are worth the wait. And some dreams shift and change – and when that happens, you need to pivot with them. You need to be flexible. You need to accept that you don’t have complete control while still doing whatever you can whenever you can.

You can never predict what curveballs life will throw at you. Even if you’re the type of person who wants to be prepared for any situation, it’s impossible to plan out your future perfectly. It’s impossible to guess what’s waiting around the corner. Some surprises will be awful, but others will be welcome. Others will change your life for the better. But either way, you need to accept the fact that you don’t know everything. You’re never going to stop feeling lost. That feeling will come back, even when you’re older.

You can’t rely on anyone else to change your world. You need to do the work. You need to put effort into your mental health, into your career, into your relationships. You need to prioritize the right things, the things that are most important to you. No one else is going to take care of you or show you step-by-step how you should behave now that you’re older. If you need help, you should reach out for it, but you’re going to have to endure a lot alone.

We’re all doing our best. When you were younger, you might have assumed your parents and teachers had their shit together – but everyone is fumbling in different ways. Everyone is confused from time to time. You aren’t alone with your struggles, so don’t be afraid to talk about them. Don’t be embarrassed about whatever you’re going through. You’re definitely not alone. Plenty of other people have been there before – or are there right now.