I am officially 30.
For years, I dreaded this birthday and thought that turning 30 was more like getting a sexually transmitted disease that couldn't be treated.
I didn't want to tell people about it, and I was sure it wouldn't go away with just a topical cream.
But with each passing year, I started to look at growing older a little bit differently.
I thought about where I was 10 years ago and reflected on how much I had changed and how much I learned.
So I got a time machine for my birthday and went back to find me at 21 to interview myself.
To say the least, I can appreciate who I am now.
Me at 30: This is probably freaking you out right now, me coming back in time and talking to you.
Me at 21: Huh? Uh, I guess. I don't know what's going on, man. I am really stoned right now. Wanna hit? (passes a joint)
Me at 30: I don't smoke anymore. Can you concentrate for just a few minutes?
Me at 21: Man, me at 30 is really lame. I think you need to relax and just—
Me at 30: Listen, stoner me, this is important. I am trying to prove a point here and show people, as well as myself, or I guess you, how much I have grown.
Me at 21: You just blew my mind right now! Go ahead. Ask your questions.
Me at 30: Thank you. Now, what is important to you in life? What do you know to be true?
Me at 21: I know that I just want to party for now, ya know? I am in no rush to join the rat race. I want to just enjoy my time, smoke a little weed and drink a few brews. I am not too interested in growing up or settling down.
Me at 30: You really put me behind. If you had changed your attitude, perhaps it wouldn't have taken so long for me to graduate and get to where I want to be. Your irresponsible attitude and laziness got us into a mess.
Me at 21: Wow, look who decided to waste the ability to travel back in time just to berate himself and cast judgment. Tell me, Trever at 30, what is the point of all this?
Me at 30: To try and warn you that you have amazing talents you are wasting away and that if you don't get your life together, you will never know your true potential. Right now, I am on a path to making something of myself and I want to make sure—
Me at 21: To me, it sounds like everything turned out all right, even if it takes me a little longer than most and even if I take the road less traveled.
Sadly, the younger, stoner version of me was right.
Although I have made several mistakes and haven't taken the beaten path to get where I am, I can say the choices I made shaped my personality and led me to where I am today.
