You're Only In Season 1 Of Your Life
The perfect place to begin this beautiful, chaotic, messy, crazy, wonderful journey called life!
I’m about to say something that might be seen as controversial…
Ahem.
I have never watched Sex and the City.
I’ve seen clips on TV and on TikTok, so I know the basics. I know Carrie Bradshaw is in an on-again, off-again relationship with Mr. Big, though I couldn’t possibly tell you his first name. I know that out of the four protagonists, I’d most likely be a ‘Charlotte’. And I know the reboot, And Just Like That…, received mixed reviews. But I’ve never actually sat through an entire episode. Not because I don’t want to either. It’s just one of those shows I’ve never quite gotten around to watching. And maybe that’s not actually a controversial confession, but I’m sure somewhere, someone would be like, “Wait… you’ve never watched SATC?”
Despite not being a Sex and the City fan, the show was huge when I was a kid in the early 2000s. Back then, it was playing out in real time, and people would often discuss the latest musings of the fabulous four. From what I gathered through the cultural chatter of gossip magazines and mum’s at the school gates, the SATC ladies were all highly successful women. They lived in New York City, wore designer fashion, thrived in their careers, and had whirlwind romances. Some of which lasted, and many more of which didn’t.
At my tender young age, their lives seemed so wildly different from mine that they might as well have been from another planet. They felt more grown-up, older and wiser than I could ever fathom. But as I got older, I just assumed like a lot of other shows that they were all in their 20s. Recently however, I saw a quote that said Carrie Bradshaw was only 32 in season one of the show.
As someone who just turned 31, this piece of information gave me so much comfort.
More often than not, we forget that so many of the shows, books, and films we love actually feature protagonists who are on the good side of 30. Yes, plenty of media focuses on teenage characters played by mid-20s actors, or 20-somethings navigating chaotic love lives (like just about every reality dating show ever).
Then there’s this relentless media narrative that once you pass a certain age, you’re over the hill. Ballerinas often retire at 30. Some footballers do too. Models are considered past their prime at 25 because, a youthful face is the currency, and the world is obsessed with it. Look at Leonardo DiCaprio, the man practically hands out breakups as 27th birthday presents. No wonder we feel the pressure creeping in as we approach 30 or 40. Its as if we’re standing on the edge of a cliff rather than at the start of something exciting and new. So while I know 31 is still extremely young, I’m not being dramatic, when I say that knowing that a 32-year-old woman was just beginning her journey in one of the most iconic shows of the 21st century is completely reassuring.
The 2024 hit Netflix show Nobody Wants This, was also a great example of this. Starring Adam Brody and Kristen Bell as two single people, a rabbi and a sex and relationship podcaster respectively, the couple find their way to each other and form a beautiful connection with one another. Both protagonists are in their late 30s/early 40s, while Brody and Bell themselves are 45 and 44, respectively. Their love story is a reminder that romance isn’t reserved only for those in their teens or twenties. You can have extraordinary experiences well into adulthood. In interviews, Brody has even spoken about the success of the show, saying he’s glad it highlights that passionate love doesn’t just abruptly end after 35. That, for some people, love might come for the first time at 40, and that’s just as valid, just as exciting, just as worthy of storytelling.
When you’re young, being in your 30s seems extraordinarily grown-up. You imagine your life at 30, 35, 40. Maybe there’s a house, a thriving career, a family, a nice car in the driveway. And then, when you actually reach those ages and your reality doesn’t always match that vision. So much so that, it’s easy to feel like you’re behind. Like you’ve failed in some way. And when you see people younger than you seemingly “having it all together,” that feeling only intensifies.
And yet, 30 and 40 are still so young. There is so much life ahead. But the milestones society expects—six-figure salaries, perfect relationships, a mortgage, children, career success, are laid out like a checklist we’re meant to complete before an invisible buzzer sounds. That pressure is even heavier for women. With the ever-present ticking clock above our heads, 30 comes with a lot of feelings, even when you do still feel 21 mentally. Likewise, if you don’t have what’s expected of you by then, the worry multiplies tenfold.
But the truth is, if life were a TV show, we’d still be in season one or two. The best characters don’t peak in the pilot. They only grow, evolve, fail and get better with time. There are still plenty of plot twists ahead, unexpected love stories, career shake-ups, new friendships, and… yes, even important lessons to learn. We’re nowhere near the finale.
Hell, we’re only in season 1 and to be honest, a lot of time, season 1 is okay but the real and best action takes place in much later in the series. So for now, season one sounds like the perfect place to begin to me!