How Adulthood Diverges
I wrote this a few years back, but honestly, it does still feel relevant.
Back on October 1, 2014 I wrote a post called “Can you make friends after 30?” If I’m doing some basic math correctly, I would have been 33 when I wrote that. I’m now 37. Here’s what happened in the intervening time:
- Most of my friends changed
- I got divorced
- Getting divorced teaches you a ton about who’s really there for you vs. who’s not, so my friends shifted again
- Now — and this took a hot minute — I feel more comfortable in my own skin
People that I probably would have texted or called regularly on 10/1/14? They are still in my phone, yes. I still see some of their stuff on social media. But are we friends? No, not really.
Now, this part of the story is extremely specific to me in the early-to-mid-30s period. Only about 28% of highly-educated people (which I somewhat am) get divorced, so 7 in 10 wouldn’t have this kind of story. I get that.
But there’s an universality to the 30-to-35 period that data can underscore a bit.
The data!
I’d say the two big “life-changers” of your late 20s/early 30s for most would be (a) marriage and…
