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View Poll Results: Are you scared of getting old?
Yeah. 13 41.94%
Nah. 11 35.48%
I don't give a shit as long as I still get to eat pie. 7 22.58%
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Old 10-07-2005, 04:23 PM   #1
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Default Are you scared of getting older?

'Fess up, people.

Why or why not?
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Old 10-07-2005, 04:33 PM   #2
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What kind of pie?
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Old 10-07-2005, 04:35 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens
'Fess up, people.

Why or why not?

Hey Trep - should I take credit for the inspiration behind this post???
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Old 10-07-2005, 04:42 PM   #4
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Honestly I never thought about it, so no. I don't tend to look into the future beyond a week at most or alternatively what absolutely must be adressed. I'm fine as I am, I'd say, including the fact I'm physically changing slowly but surely and it's called getting older. Whatever, I guess
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Old 10-07-2005, 04:45 PM   #5
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Nope, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm 30 now, and I definitely like my life better now then when I was 20. I like gaining experiences and more confidence as I get older. I'm not a super athlete, so I haven't noticed any slowing down physically as I've gotten older, and I don't care too much about getting wrinkles and going grey. So, waiting for each year to unfold to see what the future has in store for me is pretty durned exciting.

Although, I may think differently when I'm *horrors* 34.
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Old 10-07-2005, 04:52 PM   #6
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@natalia: Now that you mention experience... I think that's what I like the least. In some aspects, experience is good. In philosophy, I'm finding that whilst it makes you excellent in philosophy and you can mostly effortlessly plow through other people's philosophies in a discussion... well, I don't like it. I don't like it because the only thing left to do for me in that regard now is distancing myself from myself to look at myself from the outside more. And I'm already pretty distant.

What also sort of sucks is that five years ago, people were in awe of me being way ahead of my peers in regards to maturity and sense. Yet I've gotten so much experience since then and find myself from then so... rookie... that I do have to shudder to think what happened to my peers. (For that that don't know - I'm 20.)

Stuff like that. Not entirely rational, but I figured I'd toss it in.
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Old 10-07-2005, 04:55 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by natalia
Nope, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm 30 now, and I definitely like my life better now then when I was 20. I like gaining experiences and more confidence as I get older. I'm not a super athlete, so I haven't noticed any slowing down physically as I've gotten older, and I don't care too much about getting wrinkles and going grey. So, waiting for each year to unfold to see what the future has in store for me is pretty durned exciting.

Although, I may think differently when I'm *horrors* 34.

Hehe

You probably will think differently in a few years, and you realise that the dreaded 40 is closing in on you

For me, I find it quite troubling as I can't do "the splits" anymore, and trying to attempt a jump spinning back kick is near impossible


-
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Old 10-07-2005, 04:59 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkgothic
@natalia: Now that you mention experience... I think that's what I like the least. In some aspects, experience is good. In philosophy, I'm finding that whilst it makes you excellent in philosophy and you can mostly effortlessly plow through other people's philosophies in a discussion... well, I don't like it. I don't like it because the only thing left to do for me in that regard now is distancing myself from myself to look at myself from the outside more. And I'm already pretty distant.

What also sort of sucks is that five years ago, people were in awe of me being way ahead of my peers in regards to maturity and sense. Yet I've gotten so much experience since then and find myself from then so... rookie... that I do have to shudder to think what happened to my peers. (For that that don't know - I'm 20.)

Stuff like that. Not entirely rational, but I figured I'd toss it in.
Hi pinkgothic. If I'm understanding you correctly, I can see how that would make things difficult if you've got experiences way beyond your peers. I was sorta the opposite. I was horribly naive when I was in my 20s, and hated the feeling of being unsure of myself and never quite comfortable in social situations. For me, gaining experiences has allowed me to not take so many situations so seriously (when I think about it, I laugh at the things that would totally ruin my day in the past.), I can be more relaxed about life now.

My fiance is the opposite of me here, he often looks at his youth with a lot of nostalgia. I only do that when I think about the lack of responsibilities I had, but on balance, I kinda prefer the confidence, self-assurance, and a more relaxed attitude I've gotten in exchange.
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Old 10-07-2005, 05:04 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by natalia
If I'm understanding you correctly, I can see how that would make things difficult if you've got experiences way beyond your peers.
The question would be if I have that, or if people just claimed it. But either way, I have to look back at myself then, see this child, and wonder what that makes everyone else in the eyes of those who considered me so ahead of my peers - toddlers, even now? In essence the problem is it threatens to make me very misanthropic on an emotional level.

The things you mention are experiences I appreciate I certainly haven't been void of them on the way to the big 20.

Edit: BTW, I just realised it might be taken as an insincerity, so for clarification, I'm 21 exactly. I say 20 for stupid (read as: irrational) reasons of laziness.
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Old 10-07-2005, 05:04 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Manhunter71
For me, I find it quite troubling as I can't do "the splits" anymore, and trying to attempt a jump spinning back kick is near impossible
Teehee! The splits? No problem. Now watch this backbend...*crack!*

Ah, well, catch ya later at the senior center .

*hobbles slowly off into the distance*
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Old 10-07-2005, 05:06 PM   #11
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I was incredibly shy (but I still am), geeky, awkward and blah looking when young. I was very into school. Never went to parties, didn't date (until I was 20) and all around missed out on a lot of the experiences that go with being young. I gained some confidence at 20 and beyond (with the help of alcohol) but didn't fully come into my own until just recently. And I've been barreling through school the past 8 years and have sort of put my life on hold(schools been a lot longer than that, I just had a 3 year break working during which my life was also on hold and sucked). So I feel like my best years are coming up. I am definitely not afraid of getting old. Now I am trying to take better care of myself so I can have many more years.
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Old 10-07-2005, 05:14 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by natalia
I was horribly naive when I was in my 20s, and hated the feeling of being unsure of myself and never quite comfortable in social situations. For me, gaining experiences has allowed me to not take so many situations so seriously (when I think about it, I laugh at the things that would totally ruin my day in the past.), I can be more relaxed about life now.

Natalia, I think this is the very reason I am scared about getting old!

When I was young I was very immature and naive - it wasn't until I left school and entered full time employment that I actually achieved some self-confidence! So I feel that my true youth started in my early to mid 20's - this was when I had my most memorable experiences, and this period lasted for about 7 yrs. This was when I made my best friends, took drugs, saw great bands and had loads of sex!!!!

So now, at the age of 34, I still feel young; but when I look at my classmates, I find that they are all married with children and all have high-powered jobs



On the plus side, none of them seem to have had an exciting youth (they all went to uni and then got married after graduation )
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Old 10-07-2005, 05:25 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Manhunter71
When I was young I was very immature and naive - it wasn't until I left school and entered full time employment that I actually achieved some self-confidence! So I feel that my true youth started in my early to mid 20's - this was when I had my most memorable experiences, and this period lasted for about 7 yrs. This was when I made my best friends, took drugs, saw great bands and had loads of sex!!!!

So now, at the age of 34, I still feel young; but when I look at my classmates, I find that they are all married with children and all have high-powered jobs



On the plus side, none of them seem to have had an exciting youth (they all went to uni and then got married after graduation )
Sounds like a fun wild oat sowing youth.

I try not to compare myself to my peers at this point. Some have more advanced degrees then me, some have already settled down and have kids. Still others are pursuing more artistic adventures, like opera, having really exciting nontraditional life paths. But, I'm happy with where I am. I don't try to meet any arbitrary deadlines about when I should be married, or when I should have kids, or when I should have made x amount of money. I used to think that if I hadn't written a novel by the time I was 30, I was done for. But now, I just go with the flow and see where life takes me.
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Old 10-07-2005, 05:29 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Manhunter71
Natalia, I think this is the very reason I am scared about getting old!

When I was young I was very immature and naive - it wasn't until I left school and entered full time employment that I actually achieved some self-confidence! So I feel that my true youth started in my early to mid 20's - this was when I had my most memorable experiences, and this period lasted for about 7 yrs. This was when I made my best friends, took drugs, saw great bands and had loads of sex!!!!
So you got to enjoy all the classic youthful indiscretions while you were still young? That's a good thing!

Quote:
So now, at the age of 34, I still feel young; but when I look at my classmates, I find that they are all married with children and all have high-powered jobs
Just wait a few more years. All your classmates will be going middle-aged crazy, divorcing their spouses, quitting their high-powered jobs, and wondering "Is that all there is?". They will be trying to recapture the youth they wasted by being so serious and goal-oriented, and you'll have already sown your wild oats and will therefore have a much better handle on life.

ScottMate



On the plus side, none of them seem to have had an exciting youth (they all went to uni and then got married after graduation )[/QUOTE]
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Old 10-07-2005, 05:32 PM   #15
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^ Oops! I missed that very last bit.
Gee, I wish I still had the ability to edit my posts.

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Old 10-07-2005, 05:33 PM   #16
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It depends.

I'm not afraid of getting old in and of itself. I know plenty of older people who are still having fun and enjoying life, and are able to look at things with the wisdom of knowing the worst in life didn't kill them and the best in life makes it all worthwhile.

On the other hand... I look at some of the old people I see on the bus each day. They have lank hair, sores, and spots, they limp along at 1 inch per hour with a walker, they talk out loud about random weird things when nobody's listening... etc. In short, age has not been kind to them.

I mean, I'm not vain. I'm not perfect now, and I won't be perfect when I'm old... I can live with wrinkles and grey hair and whatnot. But I at least want to be relatively *healthy*. I enjoy trying to be as independent as possible, being intelligent, aware, and able to take care of myself without burdening others. The thought of losing control of all that frightens me.

So if I grow up to be one of those healthy old people who is still sound enough of mind and body to keep control of themselves, that wouldn't bother me at all. But if I turned into one of those people whose bodies and minds are almost gone, *that* prospect scares me. And unfortunately there's no way of knowing which I'll end up as until I get there.

I will say I miss being a kid in many ways, though. I miss the lack of problems and responsibility, when the most pressing thing you had to worry about was getting your math homework done for class tomorrow.

That's not to say my childhood was a walk in the park (in fact, some bits of it sucked quite a lot), but life was a heck of a lot simpler back then.

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Old 10-07-2005, 05:42 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by natalia
Sounds like a fun wild oat sowing youth.
I suppose it was - 22 to 27 was a very "exciting" time for me

Quote:
Originally Posted by natalia
I try not to compare myself to my peers at this point. Some have more advanced degrees then me, some have already settled down and have kids. Still others are pursuing more artistic adventures, like opera, having really exciting nontraditional life paths. But, I'm happy with where I am. I don't try to meet any arbitrary deadlines about when I should be married, or when I should have kids, or when I should have made x amount of money. I used to think that if I hadn't written a novel by the time I was 30, I was done for. But now, I just go with the flow and see where life takes me.
I understand where you are coming from, especially where your comment about writing a novel is concerned!
It has always been my ambition to illustrate a copy of Edgar Allan Poe's works, or maybe a copy of "The Illiad" or "The Odyssey".

I still haven't done it, but I am working my way towards it, and hopefully one day it will happen
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Old 10-07-2005, 06:09 PM   #18
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Quote:
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I understand where you are coming from, especially where your comment about writing a novel is concerned!
It has always been my ambition to illustrate a copy of Edgar Allan Poe's works, or maybe a copy of "The Illiad" or "The Odyssey".

I still haven't done it, but I am working my way towards it, and hopefully one day it will happen
That is very, very cool. I can't wait to see a finished edition! Someday I'll finish my book (or start one that I can actually finish). For now, though, this old fogey is heading off to bed.
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Old 10-07-2005, 06:12 PM   #19
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I'm feeling old at nearly 24. I'd think being 22 or so for the rest of my life would be good. But maybe thats because I don't feel like I've lived enough for my years. But physically, I like being young.
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Old 10-07-2005, 06:21 PM   #20
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Quote:
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What kind of pie?
Apple. We'll get SquareJaw or Lacey to supply the apples.

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