I embraced my thirties crisis. Here’s why you should, too

Beyond the mid-life crisis, there is a newer phenomenon becoming more and more prevalent: step forward the lesser-known ‘thrisis’ — the thirties crisis. Turning 30 was, for me, pretty awesome. I jacked in my high-pressured corporate job and Googled “luxury travelling for 30-year-olds”. Sooner than I could really think about the implications of entering a new decade, I was on a plane to Vietnam, about to embark on my first Flash Pack adventure.

It is a ridiculous cliché, of which I am painfully aware, but that trip changed my life. Sitting on top of an ancient temple watching the sun set over Cambodia, I realised that this was what life was about for me; awesome experiences, seeing the world, meeting new people, learning about other cultures, and just really enjoying myself.

My own personal thrisis was a fabulously positive experience

I made a promise that, from that moment, I was going to be a new, upgraded version of Jenni. I was going to be more accepting and tolerant of things. I was going to take time to enjoy every part of life, and really appreciate the amazing people that I am so lucky to know.

That moment of ephiphany — my own personal thrisis – was a fabulously positive experience. And, I can honestly say that my thirties, so far, have been utterly brilliant.

Babies and marriage aren’t the only way forward

However, I do realise, for some, this can be a trying time. The start of a new decade can come with a pressure to sit back and assess your life. Have you achieved everything you thought you would?  What are your goals for the next chapter? Are you wasting your life and letting it pass you by without making the most of it?

There’s a lot of pressure from society and the media for us to be absolutely sorted and together by the time we reach 30. But there are a growing number of us bucking that trend and nailing life, despite not having all the answers. Babies and marriage aren’t the only way forward. We are, after all, living longer than ever before. It makes sense that we now tread different paths to those followed by our parents or grandparents, when they faced similar milestones.

We tried, we failed, we made the big mistakes

It didn’t take me long to realise that my thirties — while replete with opportunity for adventure — strikes a perfect balance between new horizons and a lasting contentment.

Flash Pack’s awesome co-founder and my lovely boss, Radha, regularly gets into a good deep and meaningful about how our twenties were the heady days of staying out all night and doing a full day’s work, fuelled by a drip-feed of caffeine. We were able to be completely self-centred (rather than selfish), to discover who we were and who we wanted to be – something that sets us up perfectly for our thirties. We tried, we failed, we made the big mistakes.

It’s an opportunity to decide what you want

Now that hitting our thirties is no longer a marker for settling down and having kids, we can continue rolling on the carefree twenties vibe, only minus the emotional rollercoaster. When you come face-to-face with your own thrisis, you too might realise the same.

The word ‘thrisis’ comes with negative connotations, but my experience is that it can be the opposite. It is an opportunity to have a good look at yourself and really decide what you want, in order to be the best version of you. Once you have this nailed, trust me, the good things will start flooding in.

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