Do you remember what your life was like at 31?

[lilyanony1]

As its my birthday I thought I'd use it as the theme of my question.

Updates

+1 y

Thank you all so much for all the birthday well wishes. I really appreciate it xx

[abc3643]

Yes. I was trending toward the lowest point in my life.
I was a failure:
1) Academically - I was rejected from being able to finish my PhD.
2) In my job which I was let go from. In 1994, on the day of my 31st birthday, a "pumpkin memo" came out basically telling me (and others) were about to be laid-off. I had only moved to LA for this job from upstate NY only 18 months earlier. Then, the earthquake happened 9 days later.
3) Romantically in which I lost the same girl that I wanted to marry twice! My girlfriend dumped me first 30 years ago tomorrow just after I turned 29. We got friendly again in 1993, but then she ghosted me so to speak and became a couple with the man she'd marry. I last spoke with her shortly after turning 31.
Furthermore:
4) I was homeless. I moved back to upstate NY but it had radically changed. After having left only 21 months earlier. It was... awkward, to say the least. Furthermore, I had nowhere to live and no money, and unemployment was all screwed-up. So, I slept on my friend's couch for a few weeks until unemployment kicked in and I could "illegally" work as a tutor at my old college.
5) I was arrested and faced a violation and a misdemeanor charge. I was ACODed and kept my nose clean (ACOD=Adjournment in contemplation of dismissal).

My future looked dim, but at least I had a friend or two and was capable of surviving.
That said, this was back when I smoked and some days, one penny made the difference between smoking that day or eating that day.

Really, the 5-year block of time from FEB 1991 when I turned 28 a month earlier to FEB 1996 when I had just turned 33 and got dumped by my lazy rebound girlfriend was a major transition period in my life. It was the time when I was an insecure young adult in college forever to finally being on my own and surviving on my own with no reliable assistance. The 21-month period from the day I turned 31 in the first week of 1994 until late SEP 1995, was the nadir of that time.

[WindAtMyBack]

Roughly, yea. I have to convert it to year though. I remember years better than age.

That would have been 1987. I moved to a different state that year. I lived in that state for three years before I moved again (to the same state I moved from but a different city).

I remember at least one company I worked for that year. Then I started working for myself, had a couple of employees, and kept pretty busy. I remember the girlfriend I had that year. Overall though, it's pretty fuzzy.

I've lived more than twice that long now, and and have lived as an adult more than four times as long. So yea, the details are pretty fuzzy for any particular year.

[Apulu_3]

Um switch the numbers in 31 and comes my haha. Anyways HAPPY BIRTHDAY @lilyanony1 . May you have a great life ahead. Enjoy your life!

[lilyanony1]

Aww that's very kind of you x

[Apulu_3]

Your welcome :)

[TrueConfection]

Life was good, the economy was awesome, business and investments were doing well, my kids were little and life was magical.

[TrueConfection]

Happy Birthday! 🎂

[lilyanony1]

Thank you beautiful xx

[OlderAndWiser]

I was in my last semester of law school on my 31st birthday. Life was good.

[lilyanony1]

That's a great achievement.
Did you enjoy being a solicitor?

[OlderAndWiser]

I am still practicing law on a full time basis and, yes, I enjoy it very much.

[lilyanony1]

Ahhh ok. That's good my mum works in the field too. 😊 Very busy atm.

[Desconhecida]

There was no covid. Happy times.

[Jaximus-Lion]

I still was recovering from
carp tunnel syndrome operation in my right hand (under autumn of 2017) and i had the same operation on my left hand before new year's. I was between jobs , and we were planing on buying a house (which we did a year later) in December of 2018.

happy birthday dear

[lilyanony1]

Wowza quite an eventful year.. How has the carpel tunnel been since?

[Jaximus-Lion]

My hand are functional but not 100% special my ring fingers on both hands. I can't hold my fingers together to form a fist which means i can't carry heavy things

[lilyanony1]

Oh damn... That's really shit! But I'm glad you can still use it

[FunkyMonkee]

My band just recorded our first album 2 years before and we were already working on our 2nd. We'd just started playing a lot of gigs in Erie, Youngstown, Morgantown and other places and I'd just started wearing a skirt on stage. I was still in college (I started a long time after high school), I still couldn't get a steady job to save my life!! No girlfriend since 5 years before and none to come for another 3 years. My grandfather had just died.

[lilyanony1]

Wow that's a lot you had going on. Some good some bad. But a classic example of a typical life story. You really can't have the good without the bad. But you kind of either go with the flow or let it consume you

[FunkyMonkee]

Well, if it''s jjust a ppart oof llife, there's not much you can do about it. Grrandpap died, we felt the sadness for a while and then just got on with life. I'd guess, though, that a number of us weren't that sad to see him go because he used to get roaring drunk and beat the shit out of grandma and, during his last 10 years, he'd been cheating on her. His youngest daughter even referred to him as a son of a bitch a few years before she died. But, if it's something more devastating, you might tend to be badly hurt over it or have it fuck up your life, for at least a while.

[lilyanony1]

Ahh I'm sorry to hear that.. No ones perfect, learning curve I guess

[FunkyMonkee]

He was a bit of a complainer, too. My brother was even more of a constant bitcher. Mom told my brother, once that, as long as he's alive Grandpap will never die!

[DaveJord]

Yup, I was still with my ex wife, just got accepted for huge promotion, I was living in Italy and at the peak of cycling and was most fit I have every been.

By 34 I had all the money, working in a super stressful job, and no time for cycling... the ex wife was a real hassle, I was still fit, but life as a miserable.

But at 31 life was blissful, and by 40 everything turned around. If I could go back and be any age again I would want to be eternally 32.

[MrCommodore]

Happy birthday.

I've recently turned 39 and I haven't really noticed a massive change in my life since 31, apart from buying a house. Life is definitely more luxurious now.

[lilyanony1]

Focus and dedicated hard work!

[MrCommodore]

Yes exactly, although now I'm trying to find a better work-life balance, as I tend to work long hours. Life is for enjoyment

[ohshee]

https://youtu.be/ZL2EsR61qpo

[ohshee]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

[lilyanony1]

Aww thank you xxx 😊😊

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Happy Birthday @lilyanony1 When I was age 31 I suffered from a lot of mental illnesses issues I believe being age 53 and on new medication makes me the happiest since I was age 31

[lilyanony1]

I'm so glad you're in a better place now... Its always good to look back especially in your case to see how far you've come. It's a great achievement.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

@lilyanony1 Thank you so much well appreciated

[Prettygurl12]

Happy belated birthday! I'm 28. So... you tell me how 31 is lol

[lilyanony1]

Umm well all the older men seem to be coming out the woodwork yikes!
And I'm clearly getting too old for guys my own age...
I've lost my charm! Clearly

[Rob70]

Not many details of it. Overall it was a mess. I drank way too much. Hard partying rock n roll lifestyle will age you fast. I got clean and sober towards the end of my 30’s and enjoy life much more now

[ShaTTeredMasterpeace]

Lol no way we have the same birthday!!!

Happy birthday! 🥳

[lilyanony1]

Happy birthday to you too.
I thought we had a lot I'm common 🎂🎂🎂😊😊😊😋

[ShaTTeredMasterpeace]

Lol for sure

[NathanDavis]

yes, and it feels like it was just yesterday... lol

Happy Birthday!!

[lilyanony1]

Thank you hun 😊

[NathanDavis]

cheers (=
🍷🍷

[Chris758]

It was 2011, I had been married for 5 years by then and our child was 4 years old.
I think that was probably like one of the best times in our marriage. We were a good team, in love and raising a cute little boy.

[qwert1234]

Happy birthday!

Also... I remember life when I was 10. Besides not having money and independence, it feels awesome not to have backpains every now and then or not having neck pains if you slept "wrong" lol

[Lliam]

Happy Birthday, Lily! 🎉🎂🍾🥂

At 31, I had been working at a career job for five years and just bought a condo.

[menina]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Hope you had an amazing day!! 🎉🎉🎁🎁🎊🎊🎂🎂
I'm not 31 yet. Hopefully my life will be better by then.

[boobliker]

much more topcy terby than now i am notrich but don't need to worry about most things so I can now enjoy life and travel and see things that could not before so enjoy life ans let the shit happen to some one else!

[malakaki]

I am not yet 31 years old. But I don't think I'll live until then.

[harrison102]

You British? Happy birthday And I’m forget what I did yesterday and still I’m 31

[lilyanony1]

I am British and I am 31 and it was my birthday yesterday. So thank you 🎉

[harrison102]

Could tell with the two xx how you had a good bd

[lilyanony1]

Yea my birthday was really lovely thanks very chilled out. 😊

[harrison102]

Good good

[donnny2367764]

Dude you look 45

[harrison102]

@donnny2367764 I look 45 ?

[legalboxers]

Happy BD! 31 was a blur to me. Shit after 25 life was a blur

[lilyanony1]

Uh oh... How do you feel within yourself now then? Young, your age? Older?

[legalboxers]

@lilyanony1 old.. 5 away from 50. ½ my life is gone.