I am going to be thirty this year, and I really look forward to it. Entering the thirties is as momentous a stage as entering the teens. If teenage is a period of transition from being a child to an adult, then in the thirties the transition is from an adult to an ‘older and wiser’ adult. By this time the child in you better be dead. Like teenage, this phase in life is no stranger to turbulence, upheavals and mood swings; only this time, it does not come from the hormones.
Since my chromosomes dictated that I be a male, my thoughts will reflect a man’s perspective. A man in his thirties is a rather confused man. He understands that beneath all its vagaries, life is trivial, lasting perhaps seventy years, give or take some. Yet he gets worked up, quite literally, for the duties his family brings upon him.
Not long ago he was under a secure umbrella provided by his parents, defending him from the harsh world out there. Suddenly, he is being exposed to the fleeting nature of relationships and the double standards of society. Youthful exuberance has to make way for prudent maturity as he takes everything in his stride.
He knows how to live an ideal life but is still searching for answers for the ‘what’ and ‘why’ parts of it. He is still rather young, with dreams and aspirations that are realistic and achievable, unlike those over-the-top fantasies he used to have just a decade ago. He would have achieved a fair amount of financial independence but would also have his own set of responsibilities which prevents him from going full throttle after his dreams.
He is not in a position to decide whether to live the moment, free and happy, or plan systematically for the future, safe and secure. He looks at all the saving plans and insurance schemes and wishes that his school had taught him more of these. In the end, he decides on the same plan as his co-worker, who would have taken his money-management lessons from another. In short, he doesn’t know whether to play it safe or go all-out, much. It is much like the dilemma a set batsman faces in the 30th over of an ODI with no wickets down.
The thirties is also a time when a man’s emotional maturity as well as physical attributes peak and achieve a steady state. Now this endears him to a lot of women, young and old; but he would better watch out as in all probability he would be already married or committed.
The thirties is possibly the best phase in life, where one has the right amounts of money, muscle and maturity. Here, a man’s reputation is set, from which his epitaph will be written in the distant future. This is the period of real achievements and also at least some soul-wrenching failures.
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