This is the year all my friends and I turn 30. Since I was born in the fall, I will be one of the last ones to celebrate this dreaded birthday. When you were younger, you always thought when you’re 30, you’ll have your life together. For a lot of people, this is not the case. But hey, it’s never too late to get your shit straightened out.

By the time most people are 30 they have careers and not jobs. I wouldn’t say my current full-time job is a career, but I do enjoy editing the staff newsletter. It’s been great to write articles, edit, lead and manage a team. It’s nice to have the final say in what is published. I’ve been doing that for five years and working at the university for almost six now. I always said it was a temporary job, but its’ not so temporary after six years.

During that time, I have had the privilege to be a freelance writer/journalist at two different publications. First, at Patch.com, a community based news website. Recently, I have been given a fantastic opportunity to write for the Atlanta Jewish Times. I was even assigned a cover story for my third assignment! You can read my work here and here, and the cover story about Jewish youth conventions hosted in Atlanta here.

Another thing most people hope to do by the time they turn 30 — get married. I got engaged when I was just about 27 and married just after I turned 28. When I was younger, I thought I’d be married at 25. We all think we will accomplish life’s milestones at a younger age than we actually do. But, life happens. Since I had been in a steady relationship since college, I always knew I would eventually get married and it would happen before I turned 30. Some single people get anxious about the fact that they are 30+ without a significant other. But, it’s better to be single than in a bad relationship. And sometimes it’s best to be single and work on you for a change. You have to love yourself before you can love someone else. For those who want to find love, it can be hard to meet someone. Most people I know met their husband/wife in college. But for those who didn’t, there’s always online dating. It’s getting much more common to date and meet people on online dating sites nowadays. I know many couples who have met that way and have gotten married. After all, they do match you up with people you are compatible with.

And of course, after marriage comes babies. People expect you to have children once you have been married for a while. And some ask you constantly and a lot sooner after you’re married than you think they would.  I do want to have kids one day, maybe in a few years, but I’m tired of people asking me that all the time. I can’t even say “guess what” anymore without someone saying, “Oh my God are you pregnant?”

When you’re married you have two groups of friends, those with kids and those without. And sometimes the two groups all get together, but a lot of times you only hangout with your non-parent friends. It’s harder for the parents to go out and make plans as they need to find a babysitter or they just don’t go out as often. I would imagine that families with kids usually hang out with other families who have kids more often than with couples who aren’t parents. That’s just how it works. But, someday I’ll be in the mommy club. I just want to enjoy being married for a while before I have kids.

When most people turn 30, they just feel old. You’re no longer a 20 something. Now you really feel like an adult. The older we get we have more responsibilities. You can’t count on handouts from mom and dad anymore (well most of the time). At least I am usually told, “You’re married now, I’m not paying for that anymore.” I guess being married really classifies you as an adult to most parents of 20/30 somethings.

My husband just turned 30 last week. It’s a big milestone to celebrate. We actually celebrated about four times with dinners, family and friends. I will turn 30 in September, and I’m not too thrilled. Some people look forward to turning 30. Most people I know dread it. However you look at it, at least you’re still here and at least you’ve matured. Well, most people can say that!

Here’s to turning 30!