It's never too late to be 30
Introduction
I'm approaching my 30th birthday. Wait what. That was weird to say, especially because the past couple of years has gone by really quickly.
As I'm approaching 30, on the surface level, I often find myself thinking: “I have a stable job that I like, I am able to save a decent amount of money, I"m able buy a property, and I'm getting married, all before I'm 30. Wow!”
At the same time, I often look at what other people have achieved at such a young age. Especially with social media, it is so easy to know what other people are up to. Other people seemingly are much more successful than me, much further along in life, while also being younger.
But why though? Isn't there an idiom that goes “it is never too late”? In this post, I'll explore these two sides, looking into how the two concepts manifested in my life so far.
“I did it before I'm 30!”
Many people, including myself, perceive achievements at a young age as an achievement by itself. There are magazines that celebrate 30 people under 30 years of age, honouring them with an award. Of course, no discredit to people who won those awards, they are truly amazing people! But I want to dive into why young achievers are celebrated.
When I first started working as a software engineer, I was 21 years old. I was proud to be on the younger side of the people that worked there, especially among people that has the same job title as me. In addition, when I was talking to my parent about this job, my dad mentioned that he started working at 24. That boosted my pride even more.
Naturally, that pride didn't last long. As I pass my first work anniversary, there were new employees that are younger than me. In an office social gathering, there was a colleague that asked about people's age, and he proudly said that he was 20. He said it with a bit of boastfulness in his face, probably experiencing the same pride that I did. As I observed that, I realised that young achievement pride is something quite fragile. Fragile in a sense that it disappears as time goes on, with nothing that I can do about it. I think it's okay to be proud of any achievement, but I shouldn't tie my self-worth with achievements, especially fragile ones.
Thinking back to the conversation with my dad, where he mentioned that he started working at 24 (3 years later than me), I thought about the difference in advantages that I had compared to him.
My dad grew up in a big family that had relatively low income with 6 siblings. I haven't really talked to him about his childhood, but I have seen glimpsed of it. For example, from seeing his house in his hometown and from old photo albums of his family when he was young.
On the other hand, I grew up with my dad providing a financially better environment I was able to purchase educational needs whenever I need it. Any books, cram schools, or videos. Not to mention general generational advantages, such as having a personal computer with internet access where I could learn anything that I wanted.
I never thought that my dad was not successful just because he didn't start his career as young as me. In fact, I don't think of his age at all. He is an alumnus of one of the best universities in Indonesia. He got a scholarship to do his PhD in the US. Then, he succeeded in climbing the corporate ladder. He clawed his way up to provide with his family. I never really thought, “oh wait, but at what age did he accomplished all this?”
It's never too late
In 2017, I went to Apple's WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference). At the beginning of the conference, Apple celebrated the youngest person ever that published an app in the App Store and also the oldest person who did the same.
Publishing an app at a young age is very impressive. It can inspire other young people to start building their own app. It reinforces the idea that you can start creating even at the young age, publishing an app is not just for adults.
At the same time, publishing an app at an old age is also very impressive. The person did not have a software engineering background. They learned how to code as an elderly, going as far as publishing an app. It reinforces the idea that it's never too late to do anything in life.
The reason the celebration was especially brilliant is the fact that they are done back to back. It is awesome to be a young app maker, but it is also awesome to be an old app maker. They didn't just say, hey, this young person is awesome. And also didn't just say, hey, look at this awesome old person. To me, it is a more complete sentiment than just “30 under 30” or “it's never too late” by themselves.
Looking at a young person's achievement, someone older can be inspired to “not lose” to the young person. And an even younger person can be inspired to do the achievement even faster.
Looking at an older person's achievement, someone older can be inspired to start something that they thought they are too old to do. And a younger person can be inspired to take their time, realising that they don't need to be on the rush all the time, things that they seemingly missed out are still achievable.
Outro
As I said in the previous sections, I sometimes feel like my accomplishments are better when I do it when I was younger. As I'm approaching 30, I have thought about my achievements as “I've done this before 30!”, and found myself reflecting on why does age matter. It's never too late for anything.
I really like the notion of combining the two sides. It's great to celebrate achievements early and late in life. Both can be used as a source for inspiration.
Run, or walk, on your own phase.
Take your time, or not.
It's never too late to be 30, again.