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30, flirty and thriving. 30 flirty and thriving. 30 flirty and thriv– actually, it’s more like 30, stressed out about finances and way too exhausted to leave your house past 9pm.

In the classic rom-com 13 Going On 30, Jenna Rink imagined that turning 30 would be the most magical thing that could ever happen to her. In reality, however, many of us turn 30 and realize that we’re not old per se, but we can’t stay up as late as we used to and the most exciting thing that’s happened to us all month is when our brand new vacuum cleaner arrived in the mail. (It’s a robot!)

To poke fun at all of the hilarious things 30+ year olds find themselves doing and thinking, the 30 and Tired Instagram account was born. We’ve gathered some of their best memes that perfectly sum up the millennial experience, so you can laugh along with (or simply at) all of the exhausted people in their thirties. Keep reading to also find an interview with life coach and host of the Turning 30 Podcast, Emma Wilson. Be sure to upvote your favorite posts, and then let us know in the comments what the best and worst things about turning 30 were for you. And if you manage to make it through this list without needing to take a nap, you can check out Bored Panda’s last article featuring the same Instagram account right here.

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Kevin Garren
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You'd need to give me coffee and vodka to shop at any time of the day in general.

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To gain some insight on what it's like to be in your thirties from an expert, we reached out to life coach and host of the Turning 30 Podcast, Emma Wilson. Many people have a crisis as they're leaving their twenties, so we wanted to know if life gets better in your thirties or if it's all downhill from there. "Life absolutely gets better in your thirties, but this is often a matter of perspective," Emma told Bored Panda. "Your thirties are a time when you are more mature and often more stable than in your twenties. You have a higher sense of self and more life experience, and this can result in having richer and deeper friendships and romantic partnerships and can make more thought-out personal and professional decisions."

"However, the pressure that society puts on a 30th birthday can often result in a turning 30 ‘crisis’, which so many experience," Emma explained. "Many people panic just before their thirtieth birthday because they start to feel the pressure from outside. It’s become this big thing, created by society, that can make us go into panic mode. There is something very loaded and charged about 30 specifically because society says you should have done certain things by this time, and if you haven’t done them yet, you may experience a feeling of being left behind or that everyone else is in a different stage to you and then you start to compare."

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"This is often in relation to what I call the ’Turning 30 Manuals’- the expectation that we should be partnered, have children and own a property by the time you turn 30," Emma noted. "But for most of us these days, this isn’t the case, and it doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with us, just that we are on our own timelines. For those that get swept up in this comparison and paralyzed by the fear of being in their thirties and not feeling accomplished, can spiral into panic and this can trigger the feeling that life gets worse after you enter your 30s. However, many of the expectations to have done certain things by this age are outdated. The 30 Manuals are just fake benchmarks put onto us by society and the generations above us. We get to choose whether to let this panic effect us, or to be grateful about the privilege of ageing and to make the most of all the joys of growing up and the benefits that go along with it."

We also asked Emma if she had any wise words for people who are anxious about turning 30. "If you’re nervous about turning 30, I would start by asking yourself why," she told Bored Panda. "What is currently going on (or not going on) in your life that you would like to change? Use trigger thoughts around your milestone moment and really dive into them, use them as an invitation to ask big questions and make the changes that you want to. I think there’s nothing greater than someone who uses a birthday to go on a self-development journey - as cheesy as that sounds! It’s just a great time to ask questions and get to know yourself better."

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"Understand that nothing magical is going to happen on the morning of your birthday," Emma explained. "There’s almost something illogical in our thinking around milestones. I think it’s important to just say that out loud to yourself, as it releases pressure. It’s just another day. Operating under pressure will never be conducive to getting where you personally want to be. Lastly, to reassure people that if you want to have a positive outlook on your thirties, you can choose to. I have worked with hundreds of people who have changed their mindsets about this decade."

Next, we asked Emma if there were any misconceptions about millennials that she wanted to dispel, and she was kind enough to reach out to her audience on Instagram asking for their thoughts as well. Some of the top responses Emma shared with us were: that you have to have your [stuff] figured out by 30; that everything goes downhill at 30; millennials spend all their money on brunch; if you’re single at 30 you are unhappy; if you’re single in your 30s you are desperate to meet someone and get married; millennials have it easier than the above generation; that they are scared of a hard day's work; once your twenties are over, all the fun stops.

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"Although I love a funny IG meme, the whole narrative around turning 30 and getting a bad back is mostly not true in reality!" Emma told Bored Panda. "Sure the hangovers hit differently, and sure we have more ‘adult’ life pressures, but for a lot of people being in your thirties is your peak, emotionally and mentally and I love dispelling this misconception that it’s all stiff necks and night’s in."

#5

40 Funny And Painfully True Memes That Anyone Who's "30 And Tired" Might Understand Perfectly (New Pics)

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Verena Abt
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5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my late twenties/early thirties I spent my time working and raising three babies. Alone. They were my flatmates.

Lastly, Emma wanted to add that there is often a double standard when it comes to the pressures of aging. "Something I think is a valid point is that I mainly work with women because the pressures that women feel at this age are usually more intense than those that men feel," she explained. "This is mainly linked to biological clock and society being obsessed with a negative image of women ageing. Therefore women often feel those expectations more strongly and panic more if they are single at 30-35, and they want to be mothers."

If you'd like to hear more wise words from Emma or reassure yourself that turning 30 is no big deal, you can find her Instagram right here and the Turning 30 Podcast right here.

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The last time we covered the 30 and Tired Instagram account was about 4 months ago, and I know you people over the age of 30 don’t have the memory that you once did, so I’ll be happy to remind you of that piece. For that article, my colleague Rokas got in touch with Tyler Mann, the creator of this incredibly popular Instagram account, to gain some insight into how the page is run. “When it comes to finding a meme or an image, it could be from anywhere," Tyler previously told Bored Panda. 

"Some sources that stand out would be Imgur, Reddit, and other meme accounts that I've communicated with. I'll also think of memes while watching a show or movie or just walking around Target." Tyler explained that there are no hard and fast rules about what can be shared on the page. As long as he finds a meme funny and relatable to his own experience, it will likely be worth posting.

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Moosy Girl
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I suspect cleaning personnel love watching this because even in an otherwise empty building my desk will be the first to get mopped around if I’m there. >.<

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Mistiekim
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only 3 weeks??? It takes me about 6 months to a year. And miss you Freddie 😥

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"I also use my life and random thoughts or scenarios that pop into my head to create memes and tweets that others might relate to," Tyler told Bored Panda. "I have a pretty sarcastic personality, so it makes it pretty easy to find the humor in most situations. Memes have just become the way to express that humor for me."

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When asked what the page’s most popular posts are, Tyler said, “Honestly, the posts about the everyday stress or exhaustion of getting older and dealing with life or a [lousy] job probably get the most traction because we're all experiencing some form of it, especially in our thirties."

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Moosy Girl
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, oh wow, yes, 2000 babies are in their 20’s now! I kinda knew but it didn’t really hit me until now.

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Tyler also shared some wise words about what it’s like to be in your thirties. "Our thirties are funny, because we join this strange club where no one knows what is going on, and we're all trying to figure out how to be adults all while clinging onto the youth of our twenties, and I like to find the humor in all of it,” he shared. “Which it turns out, so do a lot of other people!" He noted that he appreciates when followers leave comments along the lines of, “I feel seen!” because he knows that they are connecting with his content. "It's almost like these relatable posts have become a form of therapy or self-validation for all of us,” he noted.

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Nicole Weymann
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every once IN a while - and I know it's petty, but it makes my brain itch, sorry.

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"Nostalgia posts are also a hit,” Tyler previously told Bored Panda. “Anything and everything '90s or early 2000s. Nostalgia posts are probably the most fun because I get a lot of interaction from people in the comments talking about whatever it is I posted and how they shared the same thoughts about it that I had." That’s a great thing about finding a corner of the internet filled with your demographic. Often I feel ancient when I see TikToks of teenagers and can’t manage to keep up with any of the current trends on Twitter. But when I can bond with my peers over a classic film we all loved 20 years ago, that’s a great feeling.

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Aran Lindvail
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And if you're partner 2, maybe think about all the extra work you dump on partner 1, and how to make up for it.

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My colleague Rokas also asked Tyler if he thinks 30-somethings are different today than they were in previous generations. “I only know what being a 30-something is like in present times, but if I had to guess, I would say that all generations have their differences and their similarities,” he noted.

"I think in your 30s, you're still figuring life out. You still ask yourself so many questions. Should you have gone to college? If you did, did you pick the right major? Did you pick the right career? Is it too late to change careers? Why does my knee always hurt? Do I want kids? And if you have kids, you're trying to figure out what does it mean to be a parent and how to be a good one. Some people are married. Some aren't. If you aren't, maybe you love it. Maybe you think it's too late, and on and on and on it goes,” Tyler shared.

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Susan S
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought I was just being bitchy to my teen son whenever he tried to get a drink while I was cooking. "Why do you have to get a drink NOW, of all times??"

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As Tyler pointed out, being in your thirties is interesting because everyone you know may be at completely different places in their lives. Some people have successful careers and own homes, while others are realizing that they hate what they do and want to start over professionally in another field. Some people are single and have no plans of settling down any time soon, while others are having children or even getting divorced. But one thing is for sure, based on this list of memes at least, everyone over the age of 30 is tired. 

A few years ago, I remember overhearing a woman at work talking about how she had just turned 30 over the weekend. Everyone asked how she was feeling with very cautious tones, unsure if she was about to fall apart at the question. But she explained that she was feeling wonderful. She said that she had been dreading turning 30 for a decade, but once it finally happened, she realized that it was no big deal. She noted that she still feels young and that she still has more to look forward to than what’s behind her, and I found that very reassuring to hear. At the time, I was only 22, and I had no idea what I was doing with my life. But I was excited to learn that being 30 does not have to be the end of a chapter; it can be just as exciting as your twenties. (You just might party a little less hard.) 

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Jason
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm right there with him and I've said that more than once.

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If you’re over the age of 30, even if you’re over by 30+ years, we hope you’re enjoying this list of millennial memes. Be sure to keep upvoting the ones you find most relatable, and then let us know in the comments if you are loving/or loved being in your thirties. Regardless of what happened or what is currently happening in your life during that decade, remember that age is but a number. You can be just as fun as you were at 21, or you can be just as wise as some 60 year olds. And if you’d like to check out even more of these hilarious memes, you can find the 30 and Tired Instagram account right here

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kath morgan
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like to look at the good reviews and the bad reviews, and see if they say the same things. Like 1* may complain a restaurant is loud, and 4* would say it was “loud, but …”. You know it’s too loud.

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J
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A different post on BP gave advice: Always ask, Do you need solutions or support? We’ve added this to our marriage and it’s great. I even do it with friends now, when I find myself “solutioning” instead of empathizing.

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Akshara Panduga
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

uhhh ummm can I-i have a chouble deeseburger w-wait I meant a double cheeseburger

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Kevin Garren
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"An Overwhelming Surplus of Diggity," that's my jam! Also, jam is my jam, technically.

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Note: this post originally had 84 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.