At what age do you start to feel old?

[Gryffindorian]

It's just that I miss my youth and vitality, independence, and self-reliance sometimes.

Of this list, it sounds like the first two (youth and vitality) are the only ones that are directly related to youth. The other two (independence and self-reliance) should increase with age (excepting the very old). Do you feel as though you have lost ground in those areas. If so, I'd say that points to concerns other than youth.

I still feel independent and self-reliant these days, but not as carefree (e.g., financially or relationship-wise). As a single guy, I still have my freedom, I suppose. Lately though, the fact that I've felt a sense of attraction to some people has changed my perspective a bit. It's not that I feel old all of a sudden; it's just that I miss some aspects of my younger days, e.g., some level of confidence.

Posted by Turd Ferguson:

I turn 30 in September, but I still feel like I'm 21/22.

I really think you're only as old as you feel. So, if I was freaking out about the prospect of turning 30, then I wouldn't feel 21/22 anymore, I'd start to feel like I'm about to be 30 or possibly feel older.

When a person reaches a certain milestone like 25, 30, or 40, he/she can't help feeling that way. When I turned 30, my friends at work threw me a really nice mini-office party, which I thought was a really nice gesture. A friend of mine asked how old I was at the time, and I said, "I think like a 20-year-old but feel more like 40, but I'm in between." There was a time when I was having one health issue after another, and that really made me feel older than I was.

 

[Ashu]

Ah, Vegas. Yeah, baby! Being of a certain age does have its advantages, doesn't it?

Maybe the problem isn't about feeling old. I think I just need to have more spice and fun in my life. I recall having a really great time and feeling so full of life during my last vacation in Sin City two years ago. I guess I'd better start planning my next trip.

I was planning a vegas meetup for when i turn 21 next summer if you're interested. Nothing like a bunch of nerds hanging out in Vegas

And you're probably right. It's nice being able to go out and do something different for once.

Sounds like fun! Do keep me in the loop. I've used up most of my vacation time this year but am hoping to go somewhere in the coming year.

Will do! It won't be till July or August of next year so theres tons of time.

 

[RandyS]

12 years ago, sometime after my 28th birthday. Of course, I have cerebral palsy, so my body has never worked right. But I had always been able to do things like everybody else, just slower. Along about 1998, my stamina declined considerably and has never recovered. I'm 39 now and can still do most everything I used to, but I've slowed down alot, so getting through the day requires more patience.

But yeah, I started to feel old at 28. Don't go by me though, as I said, my circumstances are different from what is considered "normal".

Whatever the hell that is.

Of course mentally, I'm about 11, but I'm a guy, so that explains that.

 

[Drogo]

I'm almost 60 and still feel like I did back in the 60s. It wasn't until I purchased this laptop with a web cam built in and saw myself that I realized I was old...(er) (ish)

 

[Rulius]

I guess the feeling old thing hit me when it took forever for me to get up from sitting on the floor,, used to be nothing to get up from the floor but now... takes some doing,, not sure why...

 

[ed629]

First semester back in college, at the age of 35. Having 18-19 year old students in the same class with me. Seeing how young they are, practically half my age. Remembering where and how I was then.

Especially in two classes where we had to do student groups to work on projects that counted as a significant percentage of our grade. In one group the, oldest was 20 years old, they asked me to be part of their group. Once we started working on it, the 'kids' in the group seemed to look up to me. That made me feel old, it was the idea of actually being looked up to, having them ask me advice on what do to for the class and some issues outside of school. A similar thing happened in the other group, they too asked me for advice about school and the class.

 

[The Fatman]

I remember clear as a bell the first time I felt my age. I was 24, and my wife (girlfriend at the time) pointed out that I was at least 2 years older than every single Playboy Playmate that year. That kinda hurt.

Every time I hear a crappy remake of a song from my teen years like "More Than Words" I feel old.

The most definitive "aging" feeling I had though was having a kid. I was 26 when my daughter was born and that will make you face up to your years but real quick.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Changes in the world around me-- the deaths of writers or actors from when I was a kid, for example, or all these horrible reboots and remakes-- make me acutely aware of the passage of time. But they don't make me personally feel old; a little weary and sad, maybe, but not old.

 

[judge alba]

I'm 40 and i feel as though I'm going through my second teen years. having a GF 10 years younger to try and keep up with is knackering but worth it.

 

[RoJoHen]

I feel stuck somewhere inbetween child and adult. I could still pretend I was a kid when I was in college because I was too busy having fun (granted, it was fun doing grown-up things like going to bars and whatnot). Now I'm done with school, but I still live near all my college roommates, I still go to bars, and I am still working at my "pay my way through school" bartending job.


I think I'll feel like an adult once I a) own land, or b) have a job that comes with benefits.

 

[roarimaraptor]

I am turning 30 in a few months so I feel increasingly older - depressingly so - as the months tick by. I assume that will pass...

Also, I've been saying the following phrase to younger people alot lately, "You weren't even born when this song/album/movie/tvshow came out!" and that has made me feel old.

 

[Mr Awe]

The most definitive "aging" feeling I had though was having a kid. I was 26 when my daughter was born and that will make you face up to your years but real quick.

I had my daughter when I was 35 and I found it had the opposite effect. Playing and horsing around like a kid makes me feel young again!

Mr Awe

 

[SPOCKED]

I am turning 30 in a few months so I feel increasingly older - depressingly so - as the months tick by. I assume that will pass...

Also, I've been saying the following phrase to younger people alot lately, "You weren't even born when this song/album/movie/tvshow came out!" and that has made me feel old.

It only "feels old" where you are now - at the beginning. In twenty years you'll absolutely love doing that

 

[RandyS]

I am turning 30 in a few months so I feel increasingly older - depressingly so - as the months tick by. I assume that will pass...

Also, I've been saying the following phrase to younger people alot lately, "You weren't even born when this song/album/movie/tvshow came out!" and that has made me feel old.

That's happened to me lately too. One of my closest friends is 14 years younger than I am (He's 25, I'm 39), and he didn't know what MASH was until somebody pointed out that I look like Alan Alda did at the time he was doing the show. I got him to watch a couple episodes from my DVD's, and he wasn't impressed. Not because the show was bad, but because "it's sooooo old". And he was born only one year after MASH ended. He didn't like me pointing that out.

 

[RedFenix]

Teaching high school makes me feel old every goddamned day. And I'm only 26.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Teaching high school makes me feel old every goddamned day. And I'm only 26.

No way! But you know, when we were kids and we had schoolteachers who were in their 20s and 30s, we thought they were old, right? But in Bill Cosby's words, "Old is always 15 years from now." When I was younger, I pretty much shared the exact sentiments. Even then, there were celebrities and athletes my age or younger who made me feel a bit older and unaccomplished. Way to compare myself to others.

Posted by roarimiraptor:

I am turning 30 in a few months so I feel increasingly older - depressingly so - as the months tick by. I assume that will pass...

Also, I've been saying the following phrase to younger people alot lately, "You weren't even born when this song/album/movie/tvshow came out!" and that has made me feel old.

Yeah, I'm waiting for an opportunity to say to a youngster, "I was watching the original Miami Vice TV show with Don Johnson while you were still in diapers."

 

[captcalhoun]

yeah, making pop culture references that kids don't get does it for me... or even historical references... 'oh, remember the 1986 Commonwealth Games?' 'um, i was 1...'

 

[The Sneeze Police]

I am forty-seven and I feel pretty much the same way as I always did.

When I first began working with coworkers that do not have the same childhood experiences...Apollo 11, energy crisis, Iran hostage crisis, Viet Nam POWS coming home, the ERA, etc...I began to feel older.

The other day I met someone named Dave Scott...I said "like the astronaut?"...and he said "huh?" I said "Gemini? Apollo?" and he said "huh?"

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

I don't believe in 'old'. I'll be 90 and still wearing my gold Rocawear shoes and acting like a 20 year old.

 

[FPAlpha]

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? If so, when did you start to feel that way? Is it when you hit your 20s, 30s, or 40s, or has it more to do with certain milestone achievements like getting married and having kids?

I'm soon to be 34 and i feel this on a weekly bases.

First it was younger people start calling me Sir and using the german word "you" in a matter indicating you're a stranger and need to called neutral (in german there's a difference to the word "you" used amongst friends and "you" used when meeting strangers who have not given permission somehow to use the more informal version). It's especially noticeable with apprentices i get at my job i have to train who are late teenagers or very early twenty-somethings.

Then comes the realization that i could party the entire weekend with about 5 hours sleep total whereas doing that today would ruin me for days to come.

There's also the additional small pains here and there.. something i didn't have 10 or 20 years ago.