Turning 30: My Real Life Is Just Beginning

Linda X — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 06:47:53 +0000

Before stepping into this new chapter, I want to say goodbye to the exhausted and wounded version of myself from the past few years.
Last month, I celebrated my 30th birthday.

After graduating in 2019, I joined a large state-owned company. It was stable, but I could already see what my life would look like ten years later. I knew that wasn’t the future I wanted.
So I left and moved into the education industry. For two years, I traveled constantly for work. My body was exhausted, but I kept pushing forward.
In 2021, I went through a serious illness. Shortly afterward, I fell into a deep period of depression. Looking back, those years were some of the hardest moments of my life.

In 2024, I decided to quit my job and start an e-commerce business. I worked hard and made around $40K, which looked like a small achievement from the outside.
But inside, my body and mind had been running on empty for far too long.
Eventually, I had to stop everything and give myself time to recover.
This year, I closed my online store and focused on rebuilding myself.
Last year, my husband gave me a puppy for my birthday. Raising a dog had been a dream of mine for years.
When we brought him home, he was only two and a half months old. Now, he’s already over a year old.
The simple routines — feeding him, walking him, and playing with him every day — quietly healed so much of my anxiety and exhaustion.

I also started working with a fitness coach, learning to cook healthier meals, taking makeup classes, traveling with friends, and slowly learning how to enjoy life again.
After years of feeling tense and overwhelmed, I finally feel like I’m becoming myself again.
And now, I’m ready to start over.
My husband is the founder of an AI video creation platform（https://seedeo.ai/）. Moving forward, I’ll be helping him grow the business by creating more interesting and high-quality AI content.
I also hope to connect with more AI creators so we can share ideas and learn together.
A few words I want to share with anyone who is struggling:
Take care of your body and your mental health. When your health collapses, even your biggest dreams become difficult to chase.
Don’t spend all your energy worrying about things that haven’t happened yet. Focus on today. Small actions, taken consistently, are enough.
And always remember to appreciate the people who support you.
During my hardest days, my husband stayed by my side and held me up. My little dog healed me in his own way. My friends kept encouraging me when I needed it most.
I’m grateful for all of them.

Now, I want to give my full energy to helping my husband build his dream.
From now on, I’ll be sharing:
✨ AI creations
✨ Prompt ideas
✨ Complete workflows
✨ Practical AI tips
If you’re exploring AI creation, building something of your own, or simply trying to move forward in life, let’s connect.
Let’s support each other and keep moving forward.

DEV Community: Linda X

Turning 30: My Real Life Is Just Beginning