Some Things Just Age Better
At 20, certain habits can make you feel like you’re somehow missing out, being too serious, or acting older than everyone around you. Give it another decade, though, and those same behaviors suddenly start looking responsible, confident, and even pretty attractive. Here are 20 habits that might seem embarrassing at 20 but become serious green flags by 30.
1. Going to Bed Early
Sure, cutting your night short at the age of 20 can feel like you’re letting yourself lose. By the time you’re 30, going to bed early will start to sound like a great idea! Who wants to be tired all the time? Someone who sleeps through their alarm and knows how to rock a pair of pajamas clearly has their life together.
2. Bringing Your Own Lunch
Who wants to bring their lunch when you can order Seamless? Don’t answer that. It’s a trap. By 30, bringing your lunch to work means that you’re smart, financially responsible, and able to plan ahead.
3. Saying No to Expensive Nights Out
One day you’ll look back on yourself at 20 trying to explain why you don’t want to go out spending a bunch of money and cringe. Spending less money than your friends and being comfortable with it is ‘very adult.’ Letting your friends drag you out somewhere you’d rather not be is immature.
4. Calling Your Parents Regularly
Talking to your parents every day will one day stop feeling like you never grew up and start feeling like you have a great support system. There’s nothing embarrassing about having parents and family that care about you. Get used to calling them.
5. Going Grocery Shopping With a List
Grazing up and down the grocery store aisles, picking up random things can be fun, but making a grocery list is what mature people do. By the time you’re 30, you’ll understand why having a list is a great idea. Buying toilet paper before you run out is a gift you give yourself.
6. Leaving a Party Without Everyone Else
At 20, leaving early can make you worry that you’re boring or antisocial. Knowing your limits and leaving when you’ve had enough is the sign of someone who doesn’t need others’ validation that they’re having a good time. Feel free to leave, go home, and enjoy your life.
7. Actually Using a Calendar
When you’re 20, it might feel silly to write down every single appointment you have on a calendar. Then you turn 30 and realize how incredible it is to remember birthdays, work deadlines, doctors’ appointments, and dinner parties without double-booking yourself.
8. Choosing Comfort Over Fashion
At 20, wearing cool shoes means sacrificing comfort. But once you’re 30, you’ll realize that dressing comfortably doesn’t make you any less fashionable. It just makes you smarter. Plus, you can still look awesome without limping around like you just tormented your feet.
9. Staying Home on a Friday Night
Friday night at home in your pajamas sounds like the worst when you’re 20. But after a while, spending a night alone or with your partner starts to sound like the best plan ever. There’s confidence in being okay by yourself and not feeling like you have to be out on the town every weekend.
10. Talking About Your Career Goals
Talking about what you want to be doing in life is difficult when you’re still trying to figure out what you want. When you turn 30, having goals and being open to discussing them with others becomes really hot. Bonus points if you’re working toward those goals.
11. Going to Restaurants Alone
When you’re 20, eating alone is something you have to apologize for. When you’re 30, downing lunch (or dinner) solo looks incredibly self-assured. It turns out eating a sandwich by yourself isn’t the end of the world.
12. Having a Hobby Nobody Else Understands
Having an interest that other people don’t understand can be embarrassing when you’re young. Once you hit 30, weird hobbies aren’t embarrassing, they make you unique. Whether it’s collecting Beanie Babies or rebuilding cars, everyone thinks their hobbies are cool, so have yours.
13. Wearing Sunscreen Every Day
Wearing sunscreen is something you don’t think about when you’re 20. Later on, it becomes obvious that taking basic care of yourself was a smart decision all along. Your 30-year-old self might quietly appreciate your 20-year-old self for this one.
14. Asking Questions When You Don't Know Something
Acting like you know what someone is talking about can be easy when you’re in your 20s. As you get older, asking questions becomes easier because you realize it’s better to ask and learn than pretend you know what someone is talking about. Nobody likes a fake.
15. Keeping a Small, Close Friend Group
It’s tough feeling like you don’t have as many friends as someone else when you’re in your 20s. But as you get older, you’ll realize that having a few solid friends beats having dozens of acquaintances any day of the week. Quality over quantity, every time.
16. Getting Excited About Home Goods
You might not realize how great purchasing towels, non-stick pans, storage containers, and fancy vacuums feels until you’re 30. Give it enough time, and owning things that make your home nicer becomes surprisingly satisfying. Nothing prepares you for adulthood quite like feeling genuinely excited about a new set of kitchen knives.
17. Leaving Group Chats on Mute
We all feel the need to reply to our friends’ texts ASAP when we’re in our 20s. But then we get older and realize it’s okay to mute a group chat. Sometimes adulthood is about protecting your peace, and that means ignoring 200 unread messages from your girlfriends’ trip to Mexico.
Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
18. Not Drinking Much
Choosing not to drink, or simply deciding that you’ve had enough, can feel awkward in certain social circles when you’re 20. Once you hit your 30s, refusing drinks or knowing your limit isn’t embarrassing, it’s admired. You don’t need a dramatic explanation for choosing what works best for you.
19. Planning Trips Carefully
Hours and hours of Googling hotel reviews, restaurants, and transportation may be too much when you’re 20. But when you turn 30, you’ll thank your past self for being overly prepared. Some things are better left planned, like where you’re sleeping and transportation in a new city.
20. Protecting Your Time
Did you turn down plans last weekend even though you felt bad about it? Good for you! At 30, saying no is something you should be proud of. Learning how to spend your time on the things you want to do is important, and nobody is cooler for accepting every request they get.
