Entering my 30s this year meant saying goodbye to a decade of my life that was marked as one of the most challenging but life-altering decades of my life (not even my teenage years can compare. and those were rough). Upon entering 2024, I was about to start a decade of life that, even in its first year of being in it, would show me just how different things were now that I was in my 30s.
2023 was my transformative year. It was the year that I tied any loose ends to the things that challenged me throughout my 20s. I wanted to enter my 30s truly on a clean slate, and I was glad that I was entering 2024 with that mindset in gear.
But like everything in life, it doesn’t always go the way you attend it to go.
I entered 2024 celebrating my 30th birthday. It was the (second) time seeing palm trees in person, but my first time ever being in California. Despite the hiccups we had on this trip, it was nice to celebrate my birthday in a different state where, at the time, the weather was much more enjoyable than the NYC winter weather. Being on this trip solidified my desire to want to do more traveling in my 30s, something that I wanted to do in my 20s but didn’t get the chance to due to schooling and living through a pandemic. It gave me this sense of being okay leaving the nest. and that it was okay to leave it every once and a while in order to miss it. Nevertheless, after my trip from California, I knew I wanted the rest of my 30s to be spent doing all of the things I was either too afraid to do or couldn’t do; a big part of that is traveling.
I went to Atlantic City twice this year; once during the summer and the week before Halloween. Both were closer to home, but were much needed getaways as I continued to take on responsibilities at work more than ever.
A lot of my stress and anxiety this year came from just that, work. It was a different type of anxiety that I didn’t experience; many reason is that I was officially hired into my position earlier this year, which meant that I was now learning the pros and cons of working in higher education as an administrator.
This past year, I’ve been learning more than ever how to balance my work and personal life in times when I feel like I am nothing but my job. There were days that I felt great leaving the office and confident in the work that I do; others left me questioning if I was ever the right choice being in a position like this. It’s not hard work, but it’s not an easy job. More than ever, I am learning about my passion in higher education.
In 2024, I was constantly reminded of my own Masters Thesis from 2018 and how much I felt like things needed to change within the college classrooms. Now that I work beyond the classroom, I still find myself having that need to be the changing voice in my profession. Some things never change about you, no matter how long it’s been.
Despite being more involved in my job this year, this year was the first that I felt like I was being unapologetically myself. This year, I was comfortable to show a bit more of my personality in the workplace; I’ve learned it’s a blessing and a curse. By being open meant that I was learning the politics of higher education and just
In the process of getting hired permanently, I also challenged myself to take the NYS Notary exam in order to become a Notary for my job. I’ve learned, even being in my 30s, that some mindsets can’t change, and sometimes I feel like I like to torture challenge my abilities to do something outside of my comfort zone.
With New York administrating one of the hardest Notary exams in the country, I was shocked when I passed it on the first try. It was something that I worked extremely hard for in the short timespan I had.
In 2024, I also continued my solo adventures to going to different shows and events that I wanted to go to. Back in February (although not a solo adventure) I went to see Chicago on Broadway with my sister as part of her 2023 Christmas present. It was nice to spend time with them now that we both got our own things happening in our lives. In June, I continued to cross artists off of my concert bucket list and saw TXT at Madison Square Garden. While it was definitely the type of Kpop concert I normally would avoid due to the chaos it brings the more popular the group is, I was glad to even push my limit further to attend a show in an arena that big.
Continuing my journey of also challenging my social anxiety, I had more opportunities to go out to social events and actually socialize without feeling like I was awkward or being secretly judged. Of course, the tiny extrovert in me enjoy going to parties because they are fun; I grew up going to a lot of family parties where all I did was dance to the music all night. Of course, things changed as I got older, but I’ve been adamant in getting out of my head and live my life by doing everything my younger self would have loved doing. This year in particular was the first in which I actually did whatever I wanted to do and did not think about what others thought. That was one of the (better) things to come out of 2024 for my mental health: being in a place where I was able to be myself and not be my own worst enemy in the process.
2024 was the year of many adventures that came with a lot of learning experiences behind them. I’m learning that this new milestone in my life isn’t a death sentence to my youth. Someone put it best on social media: being 30 means that I’ve been an adult for 12 years, which means we’re still the kids of adults. We still have so much left to learn about life and about the things we enjoy and that make us who we are.
I’m excited to see what 2025 has in store for me. I feel like this past year was the sneak peek of my new milestone, which means that 31 is truly the start of this milestone in life.
2024, you’ve shown me a lot about my patience, passion, and resilience to the things that would’ve normally took me out. You’ve challenged me in ways that taught me life lessons that I was never face-to-face with before. You’ve shown me that while now being in this new decade of my life, I can still love and enjoy the things that truly make up my being, and be okay letting go of the things that don’t serve purpose for me anymore.
Most importantly, I learned that I don’t have to see life being told in chapters. I shouldn’t be afraid to close one off and start a new one without getting proper closure for the chapters that came before. I am learning truly how fast time goes, and I shouldn’t be wasting my time dwelling on chapters that already told it’s part of the story. In addition, I shouldn’t be afraid to allow new chapters to begin, even when I least expect them.
And I think that’s what I’m taking into 2025 with me.
Letters From Liz. 