Tuesday, August 12, 2008

30YP Profile: Gloria Steinem


Gloria Steinem: b. 1934

30 in 1964—Working as a Playboy bunny, preparing to write the article that made her famous…

30YP Profile: Susan B. Anthony


Susan Brownell Anthony: b. 1820

30 in 1850—had just moved back to her family home in Rochester, NY, and was poised to begin her crusade for women’s rights.

30YP Profile: John Lennon


John Lennon: b. 1940

30 in 1970—with the breakup of the Beatles in 1970, working on Imagine, released in 1971.

Monday, August 11, 2008

30YP Profile: Bob Vila


Bob Vila: b. 1946

30 in 1976—first child (Christopher) born, about to be discovered (1979) by a Boston Globe writer’s story about the house he renovated in Lowell, Mass.

Welcome to The 30 Years Project

Before we dive into the good stuff, let me take a minute to explain why this blog exists...

When I, Jess, turned 30 this year, I had a bit of an existential meltdown. A self-professed sucker for logic, it made no sense to me why I was so full of despair when considering where my life wasn't and how far I still had to go before I would accomplish what I thought a 30-year-old should be doing.

As a present to me, my husband asked me during a casual conversation to please give him a list of 10 people (real, but not necessarily people I knew personally) who I admire for one reason or another. While certainly not exhaustive, I gave him 10 names that felt like a nice balance and kind of forgot about it.

On my 30th birthday, Andrew took me out to dinner and presented me with a book. Actually, it was more of a collection of stories bound together by OfficeMax, but it changed my outlook on everything. My husband researched every person on my list and provided me with stories about what they were doing when they celebrated their third decade. People who I actually knew were tracked down and interviewed, and pictures were provided of each person profiled.

Turns out... there is no "should" in existence that defines what a person might engage in so as to be proper for their age. In fact, as I later found out, most admirable people who were fortunate to live past 30 hadn't even accomplished their greatest moment by that birthday.

It is my hope that I can add profiles whenever possible of various individuals who, too, found that 30 wasn't so much a speed bump but rather a springboard. Hopefully I can help others out there to realize we don't need a "new 30" -- because age isn't accomplishment and time is subject to interpretation.

Enjoy,

Jess

 
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