At what age do you start to feel old?

[Amaris]

30. That's where life ends. It's all over there, wherever you're at by then you'll be there till your deathbed.

Well, it's certainly not good that 3 decades of my life have been wasted just trying to live life by the day.

Don't say that. Everyone's different.

As for the younger generation, Bob Dylan was recently stopped by police officers while walking down a neighborhood in Southern CA, I believe. Someone had called in to report a suspicious looking person wandering about in the streets. The police officers were in their 20s and asked him what his name was. "Bob Dylan." They didn't recognize him or his name.

Come on. You've heard of Bob Dylan. Right?

Everyone's different, true. But I know my heart and there are things I have wanted to do, things I had planned to do, dreams and goals I had before I ever reached 30, and here I am at 30, unemployed, single, taking on huge responsibilities because they must be done, and what do I have? I can look back and see this huge gap of empty space in my life, and I can look ahead and see there is an end to the line, though I don't know where it is. I breathe, I think, I act, but I'm not alive in any other sense.

J.

 

[Gryffindorian]

We had a discussion not too long ago that everyone in life has a purpose (at least I like to think we do)--what I like to refer as one's passion, intention, ambition, or inspiration. I believe it matters that you're doing what's good, what you like, and what you're good at.

Success can be measured in different ways for different people, too. "He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often, and loved much." --Elbert Hubbard. If you feel you haven't done what you're supposed to do, it's not too late to start. One is never too old to learn, grow, and develop.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

You know, reading this thread, I don't feel so old now.

30. That's where life ends. It's all over there, wherever you're at by then you'll be there till your deathbed.

I've suddenly got a hankering for fish, plankton, sea greens, and protein from the sea...

 

[Commander Vaughn]

Whatever that age is, I definitely don't feel old yet. I'm 22, working on my master's degree, and the freshmen are definitely starting to look young.

But I certainly don't feel like I've wasted any of my life either. I've been through quite a bit in my two decades on this planet, and I know I still have a whole lot to go. I actually feel like I'm still just getting started. I'll feel old when I'm actually "old".

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

30. That's where life ends. It's all over there, wherever you're at by then you'll be there till your deathbed.

I really did very strongly believe that. It caused me a great deal of distress when I was 29 and hadn't accomplished anything in life. Now that I am 39 and haven't accomplished anything in life I kind of have to suppress that thought for my own mental health which is fragile enough without believing that.

 

[Commander Vaughn]

For those of you who say you haven't accomplished anything (which is untrue, you're probably just selling yourself short), whats stopping you from doing that now? It's not too late you know...

 

[Gryffindorian]

Some people seem to get anxious when they reach (or are about to reach) a certain age that is a multiple of 5. To me, it didn't really quite happen that way. I was anxious when I was 24 and then 28. Expectations aren't always met on time, if they are met at all. I remember the "Sunscreen" speech/song by Baz Luhrmann.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.

 

[RandyS]

30. That's where life ends. It's all over there, wherever you're at by then you'll be there till your deathbed.

I really did very strongly believe that. It caused me a great deal of distress when I was 29 and hadn't accomplished anything in life. Now that I am 39 and haven't accomplished anything in life I kind of have to suppress that thought for my own mental health which is fragile enough without believing that.

I know how you feel. I'm also 39, and if I have my way (and I will), I'll be here for another 100.

And don't sweat not accomplishing much in life, I haven't either, unless you count living to 39 when the doctor who diagnosed my cerebral palsy when I was 3 told my mom that it was unlikely that I'd live to see 10.

 

[Hoser]

I've honestly accomplished a lot less than I intended to by this point, and am nowhere near where I wanted to be. But I don't really care, there's still time and the game over sign hasn't come up yet.
Not that that's a consistent feeling, we all have emotional swings (although mine's more of a porch model these days) but yeah...
Also, Logan's run rocks.

 

[T'Bonz]

In my case, 40 was the dividing line between "adult" and "middle-aged adult."

70+ starts going into "old" territory.

That's BC, right?

*smiles*

Some days, it feels like it.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Also, Logan's run rocks.

Jenny Agutter makes me feel so young.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

I'm 23 and have started to feel old. It may have to do with the fact that my average bed time is 2 am and get up around 9 am...and that I'm told I look older than I am (its the facial hair). A former coworker was shocked when I told him my age. He though I was married with kids already.

 

[Mr Awe]

^^ Shave and go to bed earlier? Sounds like a very simple way to regain some of your youthfulness.

Mr Awe

 

[Tiberius Jim]

If only it were that easy: on the flip side I look like a little kid when I've completely clean shaven, plus the girlfriend loves the scruffy look. Who am I to argue?

I'd get to bed early but I've about a month away from graduation and am working double time on my design portfolio.

 

[Sephiroth]

19...but I was in Afghanistan then

 

[teya]

I haven't felt old yet - and I'm 51.

Now, this isn't to say that I've never seen a young adult do something...well, really young, and felt "no longer young," but I don't think that's the same thing as feeling old. Not to me, anyway.

I'm 52. Aside from the occasional start when I glance in the mirror and see my mother or grandmother staring back at me, I certainly don't feel old.

Although I daresay that there are probably many here who think me delusional, given that I went back to school at 50 to prepare myself to make a career change when I retire from healthcare in just over 7 years.

I can honestly say that listening to the aches and pains of many here, I'm in far better physical shape than some folks in their 20s & 30s.

 

[Hoser]

If your college friends can now be used to run your car, you can feel old.

*cough*

*cough*

 

[Commander Rabbit]

I'll let you know Friday when I hit the big 6-0.

Happy Birthday, Ancient One! I'm a few months behind you.

 

[Commander Rabbit]

I'm not necessarily talking about feeling like a senior citizen, but have you ever felt like you're not as young as you used to be?

When I got married and bought a house at 25. That was a positive kind of feeling older, more mature. And, in my early 40's, I suddenly felt older physically.

And now at 59...

I do stretches in bed every morning so my back will function for the rest of the day. I've had to work hard to bring my cholesterol down to where it belongs. (Woohoo, I did it with diet, no meds!). My place of employment has an unusually high proportion of staff in our fifties and, especially, sixties. My peers are using an awful lot of sick leave for serious stuff like surgery, so I can't help wondering whether/when I will be joining them. I'm very conscious that I'm about to enter the decade when I will be eligible for Social Security and Medicare and will retire. Having neither spouse nor children, I need to plan carefully to be safe and secure in the future.

I could have another 30 - 40 years left! Mostly, that's a good thing.

Edited to add:

1) Ooh, I got kinda serious here, didn't I?

2) I feel old when younger neighbors call me Ms Rabbit instead of just Rabbit, even when I ask them to drop the Ms.

 

[The Sneeze Police]

I really began to feel older when I looked at my coworker's in their twenties taking off so much time just because they don't "feel good"...forget surgery or major or even minor illnesses. The Millennials in my office use every scrap of their sick leave...by the way I am in favor of using sick leave when you are too unwell for work...but their definition of too unwell and mine are quite different.

I have turned into the establishment. I am the older generation. Maybe not the oldest in the workforce, but I have more in common with Boomers than the Millennials.