I have ruminated over this subject for a week now, starting an Instagram caption, deleting it, wondering if it’s “my place” or worth it to share my opinion on this subject.
At the end of the day, it really is just my opinion.
I received my “Cowgirl Magazine” last week and one of the feature articles was a “30 Under 30”. This is an article dedicated to recognizing the achievements and accomplishments of 30 cowgirls under the age of 30 in the western industry. The article says, “this surge of young women is determining what you see, hear, purchase, and admire, and is emerging as a force to be reckoned with.”
Cool, right? Yeah… kind of. Except it really just promotes the overwhelming stigma that the age of 30 is somehow “the end”. Who cares if you’re a 30-something, 40-something, 50-something, 60-something “force to be reckoned with”?
I do!
(As an aside, I respect and love following most of the awesome women honored in this article. It is not my intention to take away from or diminish any of their achievements!)
I’ll be the first to admit that I can’t definitively say my feelings on this article would have been the same two years ago. But I turned 30 last year and I won’t lie to you, I freaking struggled with it.
The truth is, my “30” looks a lot different than most of my friends, and it looks a lot different than I expected it to look when I was in my early 20’s. I’m divorced, currently dating a wonderful man, have no human children, don’t particularly love my day job (which, by the way, I went to college for and aspired to obtain)… but, at 30, I finally feel like I am finding my place in the world.
I am proud of the photographer I have become in the last couple of years, of the confidence I have gained. I am proud of the business I have started and am continuing to learn how to make thrive. I am proud of the fears I have conquered and continue to overcome in the pursuit of living the lifestyle I want to live.
I guess all of this is to say that if you are over 30 and you are accomplishing big things in your own way, they are still BIG THINGS. If you are over 30 and you don’t feel like you’re accomplishing big things yet but you are working toward your dreams and your goals, you are still a brave, bold, inspiring human.
All of our timelines look different because we’re all different people, with different life stories, living in different situations.
30 is not the end.
