Editor’s Note: This column was first published June 11, 2015
There is a big day circled on my calendar this week, or not. I have one day remaining to call myself a “20-something.” As I leave this formative decade behind to start the next phase of my life, I’ve begun to realize what I hope most people on the threshold of a new decade of existence come to recognize — being 30 years old is not different than being 29 and 7/8. I do not feel different, look different and I certainly hope I do not behave differently.
This weekend my girlfriend and I will be heading to Wizard World Comic-Com in Des Moines with two other students of nerd-dom — her comic book-breathing brother and my 14-year-old sister, who I could see dressing in her Katniss, “Hunger Games” attire for the occasion.
As a soon-to-be 30-something, I do not plan to leave my “Star Wars/Star Trek/Spiderman” needs in the decade behind me. The youthful archetypes of good-battles-evil, power corrupts and astronauts are wicked cool will stick with me until I’m a 90-something. So when my iPhone received a text from my girlfriend asking how I would feel about meeting William Shatner for my birthday, my inner nerd leaped from my desk chair, and the “News” in Prairie City News was briefly replaced with “Nerd.” My response was simple, “For a 30th birthday, The Shat is where it’s at!” She then asked, “Is meeting William Shatner for you like meeting George Strait for me?” Almost ... almost.
Entering this decade, I understand my transition to adulthood is supposed to be complete. But why give up the youthful ideals which make us who we are? A recent piece of clickbate I happened upon gave me a list of “30 things everyone should do before 30.” Well, sorry, Business Insider. I don’t think I’m going to make it to a Tokyo night club by Wednesday. I also don’t think age 30 is the cutoff for Tokyo night club bouncers. At some point in my life, my Facebooking, listicle-reading, cynical generation told me that it is time to let go of my dreams and focus. But I am focused. I’m focused on living my life every day regardless of how high the numbers get on my Facebook basic info tab.
I may one day be raging in Tokyo, but until then, I think I’ll have some birthday cake with Captain Kirk.