This weekend I celebrated the 30th birthday of one my American colleagues. We met for dinner and then went dancing. It was great fun.

At some point in the middle of dinner it struck me: I'm next. I am staring down 30.

My birthday is May 18th. I've got about a month and a half left of my twenties.

Then I'll be 30. None of this twenty-something business for me any more. The best part? Well that is I am not at all worried about this.

In the States, plenty of people freak out about turning 30. About leaving their 20s behind. About what they've done (or haven't done). Not me. Not yet at least.

I think that out culture in the States encourages it. It's linked directly to our obsession with youth and beauty as well as some vague sense of the American dream and our ability (or inability) to achieve more than our parents. These two things offer a pretty clear set of standards by which to measure yourself. If that wasn'' enough, there's also Facebook.

How am I doing? <em>Great</em>.

Though not by any traditional set of standards. I am no closer to getting married, having children or buying a house than I was at 25 but I've traveled more than I imagined possible at 25 and I am well on my way to learning Bulgarian.

Anyhow, all of this has gotten me thinking about what it means to turn 30 as a Bulgarian. What expectations are there? What worries do you have? What pressures do you experience?