What do you know in your 30s that you didn’t know in your 20s?

What do you know in your 30s that you didn’t know in your 20s?

It’s Friday night and for the first time in months I had a whole evening to myself. I chose to spend it catching up on Oprah that had been recorded over the past few weeks.

The episode I just finished watching was about women in their thirties – Thirty Something in America. At first I was going to skip over this since I am only 25. After a second thought, I decided that I should give it a listen. For the most part the issues the women in the show were facing were a bit out of my reach at this stage in my life.

My favorite part of the show was at the very end Oprah asked a few women …

What do you know in your 30s that you didn’t know in your 20s?

“What do you know in your thirties that you didn’t know in your twenties?”

These were the answers that spoke to me:

  • “I think one of the things that I know now is that life is life. So, you just have to kind of go with the flow and go with your gut, go with your instincts and not hold on to bad experiences and bad people too long waiting for them to change or evolve into something else. You just need to move on and count it all as a lesson.” – DeChane
  • “The one thing I have learned in my thirties that I did not know in my twenties is how valuable my friendships are … Once you are sucked into your thirties and trying to figure out where your life is going, it’s the friends that really make the difference in your world.” – Molly
  • Oprah’s closing thoughts: “There is a common thread that runs between us all … We all have the same desire to be valued regardless of where we come from or what we may be going through, and to love the people most important in our lives and that is our connection to each other. So I say thank you.”

{photo source: Dreamstime; Macrovector}

7 thoughts on “What do you know in your 30s that you didn’t know in your 20s?

  1. Oh jeez, the 20’s are just a blur and beginning to learn. Getting burned, going back, and figuring people out. Hopefully people the highschool needy phase, but people are all different!

  2. Things that I have learned in my thirties (so far)

    Love my parents, eventhough. Don’t know how much longer they will be around

    Forgive good friends. They make mistakes and so have I. Nobody is perfect.

    The biological clock really does exist: I want to have a baby NOW!

    Don’t waste time on “bad boys”

    Money doesn’t make me happier but it sure makes things a lot easier

    and most important of all:

    I am just fine the way that I am!

  3. I’m also only 25. But I’m just trying to live life in the moment and not waste it worrying myself to death. I think that would be the best advice for people who are lucky enough to still be healthy and alive at this stage. I won’t know what my 30s are like but I imagine, or hope I’d be married with kids, a house and a good career established by then. Hopefully!

  4. I’ve always value the wisdom and experiences of my friends who are now in the early to mid 30s. Somehow being 24, I am lucky to have made so many friends who are much older than i am that i respect and admire and can still find a common ground to talk about our everyday lives. I think the most common advice i’ve been given when talking to them about figuring out life in my 20s is to always trust my instinct and to really know what i want before deciding on the important matters. that saying ‘know thyself’ cannot describe it any better.

  5. definitely learned in my 30's so far:

    lot of dangerous people out there, if ur not careful u get to pick nasties when you thought he or she's your friend, or lover, whatever

    you have to decide what you really want in life and not depending on pressures from people around you

    by now you have to be really good at selling and proving yourself – constantly outdoing your old self (and you just might be surprised on what you can truly accomplish)

    really spend time with the people you love

    to have a bright and positive outlook in life coz u wouldn't know what life may throw at u – ur life may seem perfect then suddenly…
    good to have true friends around

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