Thirty, Flirty & Still Finding the Magic

MJ Wynn
Jan 13
6 min read

Updated: May 25

The Magic of Turning 34: A Millennial's Journey

Birthdays have this magical way of sneaking up on you, especially as we navigate our thirties - that transformative decade where we're simultaneously young enough to chase dreams and old enough to appreciate the journey.

Living in the Now

One moment you're going about your daily routine—maybe doom-scrolling through TikTok between meetings, trying to decode if Mercury is in retrograde again, or debating whether to splurge on that new crystal collection—and the next you're sitting there with your oat milk latte (or let's be real—your evening joint), diving deep into memories and dreams. The quiet contemplation hits differently now, doesn't it?

This year, as I approach 34, there's this beautiful sense of alignment I've never felt before, like the universe finally decided to let me in on some cosmic secret. It's like finally finding the perfect rhythm in a song you've been trying to master, or getting that Instagram aesthetic just right after months of curation.

Embracing Our Contradictions

But it's more than that—it's about embracing the contradictions that make us who we are:

the professional who still loves sparkly phone cases
the mindfulness enthusiast who can't resist checking their horoscope
the self-care advocate who sometimes has ice cream for dinner.

These contradictions aren't flaws; they're the glitter in our souls.

Growing Up Between Two Worlds

You know what's wild?

We're part of this incredibly unique generation that got to experience the world in two completely different chapters, straddling the analog and digital worlds like cosmic time travelers.

We remember the satisfying click of a Walkman, the excitement of recording radio songs onto cassettes (finger hovering over the record button, waiting for the perfect moment), and the pure joy of finally getting our own MSN screen names (bonus points if yours had "xX" or "~*" in it, extra credit for song lyrics in your away message).

We survived the dial-up internet screech (that digital symphony that haunts our dreams), mastered the art of burning the perfect mix CD (complete with handwritten track lists and elaborate cover art), and lived through the evolution of cell phones from Nokia bricks to iPhones. We're digital pioneers with analog hearts, and honestly? That's our superpower. We understand both the value of instant connection and the beauty of taking things slow, like waiting for a disposable camera's photos to be developed - that anticipation that made every captured moment feel more precious.

Growing Up with Taylor Swift

Speaking of generational experiences, let's talk about Taylor Swift—the soundtrack to our collective coming-of-age story, the artist who somehow managed to put words to every emotion we've ever felt. Here's a little cosmic connection that always makes me smile: I'm 1 year, 1 month, and 3 days younger than Taylor. I know it's not exactly 13, but 113 feels like its own kind of magic number, a special thread in the tapestry of synchronicity.

Watching her evolution—from country sweetheart to pop icon to the businesswoman reclaiming her art—feels like watching our generation's story unfold in real time. We've been there through every era, from teardrops on guitars to champagne problems, from feeling twenty-two to the midnights that turned into mornings.

Her journey of reinvention and self-discovery mirrors our own paths of finding our voices and owning our narratives, teaching us that it's never too late to begin again, to rewrite our stories, to reclaim what's ours.

Each album marks a different chapter of our lives, from first heartbreaks to finding our own strength, each song a time capsule of who we were and who we're becoming.

The "13 Going on 30" Reality Check

For all my fellow millennials, especially those crossing the threshold into their 30s or already dancing in this magical decade, I have a ritual to share: Watch 13 Going on 30 on your 30th birthday, preferably while eating Razzles (yes, they still exist!) and wearing your favorite sustainable loungewear, surrounded by crystals and whatever comfort items spark joy in your soul.

Trust me on this one. Remember when we first watched it, dreaming about being "thirty, flirty, and thriving"? Now we're here, juggling student loan payments with our HelloFresh subscriptions, trying to maintain our houseplants while maintaining our sanity, and while life might not include spontaneous dance numbers to "Thriller" (though who says it can't? Schedule that dance break!), it's filled with its own kind of magic.

The movie hits differently now—it's less about wanting to grow up fast and more about appreciating every chapter of your story, even the ones where you're just trying to figure out whether you can afford both therapy AND a Spotify premium subscription (because let's be honest, we need both). It's about understanding that being an adult doesn't mean having it all figured out; it means being okay with the figuring-out process, finding beauty in the uncertainty, and maybe even learning to laugh at the chaos.

The Beautiful Mess of Growth

But here's the thing about growth—it's rarely the straight line we imagined it would be. It's more like a spiral, revisiting old lessons with new wisdom, dancing between who we were and who we're becoming. These past few years have been a masterclass in embracing the unexpected, in finding strength we didn't know we had.

Between pandemic pivots, Great Resignations, and trying to decode whether "rizz" is actually a word (while secretly feeling too old to even ask),

I've learned that strength isn't about having it all figured out; it's about staying curious and resilient through the plot twists.

Life's beauty often hides in the messy middle, in the moments between the highlights we post on social media and the reality of eating cold pizza while watching true crime documentaries at 2 AM. It's in the late-night conversations with friends about everything and nothing, the small victories of maintaining a consistent skincare routine (finally!), and the courage to start over when something isn't serving you anymore. It's in the vulnerability of admitting we're still figuring it out, and the strength in knowing that's exactly where we're supposed to be.

Creating Through Chaos

My creative projects have become my anchors through this journey, my way of making sense of the beautiful chaos. The blog posts that start as late-night scribbles in my Notes app (usually after a particularly profound shower thought), the podcast episodes that capture raw conversations about life, love, and whether Mercury retrograde is actually affecting our Hinge matches (spoiler: probably), and yes, even the book I'm slowly but surely writing between therapy sessions—they're all pieces of the puzzle.

Creating content isn't just about sharing thoughts anymore; it's about building connections and finding your tribe in this vast digital universe, where we're all just trying to figure out if we're too old for BeReal but too young for Facebook (the eternal millennial dilemma). It's about creating spaces where we can be authentically ourselves, where we can admit that sometimes we still google "how to adult" and "what does this moon phase mean for my love life" in the same breath, and that's perfectly okay. These digital campfires we're building become spaces of connection, understanding, and shared experience.

Finding Peace in the Present

One of the most liberating realizations of my 30s has been understanding that productivity isn't the only measure of worth.

Some days, the most profound growth happens when you're simply being—curled up with your favorite vinyl playing (probably Taylor's Version, let's be honest), rereading that dog-eared copy of your comfort book, or watching the sunset with a perfectly rolled joint and your emotional support water bottle (complete with encouraging time markers and uplifting quotes).

These quiet moments, when you're not trying to optimize your morning routine or manifest your best life through another productivity app, are just as valuable as the big achievements. They're the moments when we reconnect with ourselves, when we remember that we're human beings, not human doings. They're the spaces between breaths where we find our truth, where we remember that our worth isn't tied to our output or our follower count.

Here's to 34

So here's to 34—to embracing the plot twists, celebrating the small victories (like finally keeping a plant alive for more than three months, or remembering to drink water before our third coffee), and finding beauty in the in-between moments.

To learning that life's best chapters often come unplanned and that wisdom sometimes arrives wrapped in mistakes and questionable Instagram filters. To understanding that our journey doesn't need to look like anyone else's, and that's what makes it beautiful. To knowing that every "failure" is just a plot twist in our character development arc.

A Note to My Fellow Millennials

And to all my millennial babes out there, navigating this wild adventure with grace, grit, and a playlist full of bangers—whether you're side-hustling, main-character-energy-ing, or just trying to remember to drink water and take your vitamins—keep shining, keep growing, and never lose that sparkle. We're exactly where we're meant to be, even if we still don't know what we want to be when we grow up (and maybe that's the point). Remember: the magic isn't in having it all figured out; it's in the joy of figuring it out together, one crystal-guided, therapy-supported, caffeine-fueled step at a time. 💖✨✨✨✨✨✨

🌷 Signed, MJ