30 Is Not In Fact The New 20

D.West
Head Writer


"30's the new 20 nigga, I'm so hot still" - Jay-Z

That's a half true statement. It's 2012, and Hov is still atop the charts, making great classic music, however 30 is not in fact the new 20. It's the exact same 30 it's always been. This past month I turned 28, and as I inch ever closer to the big three zero I find myself coming to grips with this realization.

When I was 20 I was in college,  drinking literally every night, smoking much weed as possible, and living as though I had no tomorrow. If I got fired from a job, I found a new one. If I broke a bone it healed in what seemed to be two weeks, and I had no semblance of an actual emotional relationship.

family man..?!

Fast forward 8 years. When I get drunk now my body makes me pay for it for 3 days afterwards. If I even smell weed in a public place I bitch about how someone could be so irresponsible as to smoke weed where children could be present. I worry about my families future. I'm terrified at the prospect of losing my job. If I break a bone the shit stays broken. I'm a father,  and I have been married for the past two years to the same woman I've been with for the past six. This is what 30 looks like
--to me at least.



I'm not sure if the terms creation sits squarely on the shoulders of Jay-Z or not. Research into the terms origin only turned up the lyrics to his song "30 Something" though I'm pretty sure I'd heard the term used before I'd heard that song. My guess would be that generations previous to ours had a tendency to do things earlier. They got into the workforce earlier, they got married earlier, and they had stable lives much earlier.

shit was hot back in the day...
 not if you're still wearing it though

These days you're lucky to find many people who are closing in on 30 actually acting as though they're closing in on 30. The statement "30s the new 20" is just a way for people who are almost 30 to justify acting and doing things they way they did when they were 20 and feeling ok with it.

blame mtv!

Really look at our culture. Look at your friends. Do they dress how they did in college? Listen to the same music? Go to the same bars? Live by the same rules and standards? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, in my opinion something's wrong. Look there's nothing wrong with breaking out the cargo shorts on the weekend. And far be it from me to tell you to not dust off that "Country Grammar" album on a nice spring day. But when you're making a habit out of being the same person you were ten years ago, that's a problem. At 20 would you feel comfortable acting 10? Would you feel cool      saying "20s the new 10 dogg!" No. No you would not.

Life is about two things: Relationships, and growth. And you can't have one without the other--well, allow me to rephrase-- you can't have a successful relationship without growth. The person you are when you're 20 should not be who you are at 25, nor should the person you are at 25 be the same as the person you are at 30. And that's just natural progression. At 30 you should simply want more for yourself than the same shit hole bar you've been going to for 5 years. Or the same petty drama and problems you were dealing with when you were young. To me that only makes sense.

90's the new 15 NIGGA!

If 30 is the new 20, then where does it stop? Does that make 50 the new 40? And in turn does that make 70 the new 60? Oh and watch out! Because word on the street is 90s the new 80! Seems ridiculous I know, but it's not any more ridiculous than people in their 30s or on their way, desperately trying to hold onto their 20s because they're afraid to move on and quite simply have nothing to move on to because they've wasted their ENTIRE 20s doing the things that most of us only spend the first half of our 20s doing.









So when your 30th birthday comes around, do yourself a favor and cancel the keg. Hold off on heading out to the club. And for god sake stay away from that hole in the wall bar you and your college roommate loved so much. In short be 30! Grow up! Going out and getting "shitfaced" on your birthday is kids stuff. And deep down inside even you know it.



 Leave the kids stuff to the children you're not taking care of...But that of course is an entirely different article...


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