Do I Have to Live Long to Prosper?

[Withers]

Can't I just... you know, stay young and do that?

I'm afraid of getting older. Is that a reasonable thing to be afraid of? A few years ago the thought of 30 seemed as distant as Mars but now it's like the next town over; in 6 years I'll be three decades old. What used to be "sassy youth" is starting to look more like "jaded cynicism." I watched As Good As It Gets last night before I went to bed. When that movie came out I used to joke "That's going to be me one day; an old man, bitter and detached from the world- brilliant but wholly ignorant!"

But in watching it last night I looked around my apartment... stacks of paper on my desk, the piano sitting un-played except in times of melancholy, bottles of water meticulously adoring an exposed pantry that was probably meant for Board Games, and even M&M's in jars separated by color along the shelving in the kitchen and thought... "Dear God... its me now!"

What used to seem like something that just wouldn't happen to me feels like its approaching with...alarming, undeterred speed and it frightens me a little bit. I don't know why exactly its scary or if it is even something I should really spend too much time worrying over since, you know, its inevitable... but that doesn't change the fact that I am.


What do you guys think? For those of you my age do you ever think about that kind of thing? For those of you older than I am... did it hurt?

-Withers-​

 

[O'Dib]

During my awkward teenage years I couldn't grow up fast enough. I considered being mistaken for older a compliment, a sign of maturity. Then I moved out of my 'rents house, traveled the world, and went wild doing all the teenage things that I, for various reasons, missed out on - y'know, smokes, drinks, chicks and drugs. But now, instead of being mistaken for a younger guy, people could place me, and it became increasingly obvious that not acting my age doesn't change it. At this point I feel I'm pretty ready to settle down and grow roots. It's just what's next. I embrace it, out of boredom with what was before.

 

[RandyS]

I spent most of the 1980's wishing I was older. Then I came of age in 1991.

I've spent everyday of the last eighteen years wishing I could be a kid.

Don't sweat it though. Getting older isn't easy, particularly for somebody like me with cerebral palsy, which makes me slow down faster, but it's not all bad.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Only advice i can give you on getting old is just ignore it, it will go away eventually.

 

[Udat]

Hey I`m 33 fitter, healthier and happy than when I was 23!!!! I love been in my 30`s my 20 were lost in a hazy of trying to find out who I`am.... God it was awful.....

 

[Withers]

Hey I`m 33 fitter, healthier and happy than when I was 23!!!! I love been in my 30`s my 20 were lost in a hazy of trying to find out who I`am.... God it was awful.....

Oh, thank god! I was starting to regret creating this thread as the tone was getting a bit...grim. Well, if you're happier in your 30's, there's a chance I won't hate them either. And you're right! All this "who am I" crap is responsible for the alcohol consumption. I mean... something has to drown those thoughts out, right? Knowing there's some potential they'll be over with in a few years is a comfort.

-Withers-​

 

[ancientone51]

Hit 60 last summer...it's teh old mind over matter....if you don't mind it doesn't matter. (rim shot!)

I only feel old when I'm so worn out I look old. (right now, that's too ofter, but i got a right for a bit)

Take care of yourself and you'll be fine

the alternative is what isn't fun

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I can't wait to be considerably older than I am now, because that's how I feel- old and tired. I look forward to growing into it honestly rather than having it conflict with expectations of the vigour of youth.

My family call me "old man", actually, because supposedly I have the demeanor of a tired old man (and they're right, most of the time). I was talking to a close friend the other day, discussing the other people at my university. She said they were simply doing what young people do, acting as the young act (she is the same age as them and I , by the way). I replied that I haven't been young for quite some time; she chuckled grimly and responded, "were you ever?"

 

[scottydog]

I'm 50 and am a billion times happier and healthier than I was 25 years ago. Life really gets better if you're willing to grow, to explore, to self-improve.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'm on the cusp of 49 and I feel just fine.

^^ And I still write unexpected poems.

 

[JonathonWally]

Ever since I sat and thought about Chuck Norris turning turning 70 a few weeks ago, I realized age really is just a number.

I was getting moody and depressed about turning 29 this year, was having nightmares that I was going to go to sleep 30 and wake up 80 the next morning missing my entire life.

Then Chuck Norris turned 70 and I was like, wait a minute, I don't have to be "old".

Yes, it sounds like I'm mocking, but I'm serious.