Are Your 30s Just A Taylor Swift Bridge?
When you stop trying to be the main character and realize you're actually writing the whole damn song. A year-end toast to the unexpected joys of getting older (and wiser).
‘Long story short, I survived.’
- Taylor Swift
You know that moment in a Taylor Swift song when everything builds up to that bridge, and suddenly all the pieces click into place? (Looking at you, ‘All Too Well’ bridge that lives rent-free in our heads). Well, as we're wrapping up another year and everyone's crafting their 2025 manifestations, I've started thinking that your 30s are basically one long Taylor Swift bridge.
Hear me out: Just like Taylor's bridges are where the real story unfolds, where the perspective shifts, where everything gets deliciously specific and brutally honest, by 30 you’ve already realized you’re on your own kid, you always have been, but somehow that self-reliance becomes less of a burden and more of a superpower.
The Red Era: When 22 Feels Like a Lifetime Ago
Remember when life was somehow miserable and magical all at once? When we were happy, free, confused, and lonely simultaneously – and somehow thought that was as complicated as it would get? Now we're looking at our 22-year-old selves the way we look at our old Facebook photos: with a mix of nostalgia and “oh honey, you have no idea what's coming". The plot twist? The messier, more complex chapter you're in now is actually way better than all those perfect plans. Turns out, being confused at 22 was just the dress rehearsal for the beautiful chaos of your 30s.
The Evermore Era: The Quiet Luxury of Knowing Better
There's something powerful about finally living in peace with your choices. When the Sunday scaries turn into Sunday planning, and someone's opinion of your life choices bounces off you like a badly timed Slack notification. Remember when we thought burnout was a badge of honor and December goal-setting was all about hustling harder? Now you're treating your energy levels with the same respect Wendy Rhoades in Billions treats her client list. When life comes at you now, you're ready – not because you've got it all figured out, but because you've finally figured out what actually matters. Your end-of-year reflection isn't about what you achieved; it's about what you had the courage to let go.
The Tortured Poets Department Era: The Plot Twist We Didn't See Coming
This is where it all comes together, like when you realize you can handle anything life throws at you – even with a broken heart, even with a messy apartment, even with an unfinished to-do list. Sometimes being a real tough kid means smiling through the chaos while your plants are dying and your meditation app is judging your streak. As another year winds down, your 30s are that moment when you realize:
Success can sound like coffee brewing at 9 AM instead of slack notifications at 6 AM (and no, your 2025 resolution won't be becoming a morning person)
Your running pace doesn't need to break records to break through mental blocks
The only hot girl walk you need is the one that clears your mind, not your camera roll
Your wellness routine can include both meditation apps AND reality TV shows
Because here's the thing about bridges in Taylor's songs – and about your 30s: they're not about perfect resolution. They're about perfect clarity. They're messy and specific and real. They're about looking at your life and finally singing, “long story short, I survived" with the same conviction as Taylor herself. They're where you stop trying to fit into the verse everyone else is singing (or the resolutions everyone else is making) and start writing your own bridge.
And honestly? The bridge has always been the best part anyway.
P.S. If you're reading this while stress-ordering plants at midnight or considering whether to get bangs (sleep on it), know that you're exactly where you need to be in your own era. And if you're making a vision board for 2025, maybe leave some blank space for the plot twists – they're usually the best part of the story anyway.