What age do you start to feel old?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the subjective experience of aging and the point at which individuals begin to feel "old." Participants share personal reflections on their feelings about youth, aging, and the desire to return to earlier stages of life. The conversation touches on various ages at which participants felt a shift in their perception of youthfulness and vitality.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that they began feeling old at a young age, with one stating it was at 20, while another felt it at 52.
  • Several contributors express a desire to return to childhood or teenage years, citing nostalgia for youth and the simplicity of those times.
  • One participant reflects on the physiological changes that come with aging, noting that recovery from injuries becomes more difficult with age.
  • Another participant argues that the idea of being old at 20 is silly, asserting that significant accomplishments often begin in one's 20s.
  • Some participants emphasize the importance of living in the present and not dwelling on past regrets, suggesting that enjoyment of life can improve with age.
  • A few participants mention specific experiences, such as not being carded for alcohol, as markers of feeling old.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features a range of opinions on when one starts to feel old, with no clear consensus. Participants express differing views on the significance of age and the value of youth, leading to a variety of personal reflections and experiences.

Contextual Notes

Participants' reflections are influenced by personal experiences and may not account for broader societal or psychological factors related to aging. The discussion includes a mix of humorous and serious tones regarding the aging process.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in personal reflections on aging, nostalgia for youth, and the subjective experience of growing older may find this discussion relevant.

Benzoate
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You know , the age limit you reach where you used up all your youthfulness. when does your rebellious meter start decreasing? For me its 20. I do anything to be a teenager again
 
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Mine'll be something like 90. I think then I might be forced to admit that, maybe, I'm a little bit old without QUITE as much potential as I used to have.
 
My memory is a bit hazy, but I think that I was about 3.
 
I will be turnihg 20 and I think it is depressing, I woud give any thing to be 10 again. The only thing I got to look for now is when I am 25, when car insurance lower; and no not 21.
 
Winzer said:
I will be turnihg 20 and I think it is depressing, I woud give any thing to be 10 again. The only thing I got to look for now is when I am 25, when car insurance lower; and no not 21.

yes I would defintely would be the first person in line if there was a time machine that would let you travel to your childhood. My second choice would still be a teenager so I could visit those ackward stages that I wasn't very attentive to.
 
Benzoate said:
yes I would defintely would be the first person in line if there was a time machine that would let you travel to your childhood. My second choice would still be a teenager so I could visit those ackward stages that I wasn't very attentive to.

Yah same here, go back and change some things would be nice; like if I knew Diff Eq. by age 10 would be sweet.:smile:
 
Benzoate said:
what age do you start to feel old?

The first time that some really hot looking babe calls you sir.
 
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Ivan Seeking said:
The first time that some really hot looking babe calls you sir.

:smile::smile:Oh my God!:smile: Sounds like a personal experience, Ivan.
 
Ivan Seeking said:
The first time that some really hot looking babe calls you sir.

With the exception of Tsu, I have trouble believing that any hot looking babe speaks to you at all. :-p
 
  • #10
I stayed 20 years old for nearly 20 years. Now at 42, I'm 31. But I think I'll be 36 next year.

You are as young as you want to be right now. You will only be getting older from this point on. Hmm sounds like a song...

 
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  • #11
I'm 52, and really started feeling old at 20. I couldn't believe I'd lived through that incredibly large number of years. This still seems true to me: the distance between 0 and 20 will always be greater than the distance between 20 and any other age after it.
 
  • #12
when does your rebellious meter start decreasing?
In my case - NEVER! I'll die being rebellious. :biggrin:

Physiologically, I certainly can't perform at the levels I did 30 years ago (I'm almost 50), and if I get injured, it takes longer to heal.

On the other hand, I find that I feel much better (somewhat younger) as long as I engage in some vigorous physical activity like running/hiking, swimming, canoeing/kayaking, . . . .

I certainly wouldn't want to be a teenager again.

It would be nice to be about 25 and have 50 years worth of knowledge and experience. :-p
 
  • #13
Astronuc said:
In my case - NEVER! I'll die being rebellious. :biggrin:

Physiologically, I certainly can't perform at the levels I did 30 years ago (I'm almost 50), and if I get injured, it takes longer to heal.

On the other hand, I find that I feel much better (somewhat younger) as long as I engage in some vigorous physical activity like running/hiking, swimming, canoeing/kayaking, . . . .

I certainly wouldn't want to be a teenager again.

It would be nice to be about 25 and have 50 years worth of knowledge and experience. :-p

Injuries start to suck when you're in your 40's/50's. Even the minor strains seem to take months to really heal - everytime they start to feel better and you forget about them, you reinjure the same muscles because they really haven't healed all the way. I think I spent all of last summer alternating between an injured left shoulder and an injured right shoulder.

The idea that a person is old at 20 is just silly. All the good stuff starts happening in your 20's when you actually start accomplishing something instead of learning how other people accomplish things.

Probably because you don't look back with quite the same point of view, but about the only part of my teens that I really miss was my part time job and the people I worked with there. Most of the rest of it, such as school and so on ... meh, it was alright, but nothing to write home about. I could have made a lot better use of most of my time.
 
  • #14
BobG said:
Injuries start to suck when you're in your 40's/50's. Even the minor strains seem to take months to really heal - everytime they start to feel better and you forget about them, you reinjure the same muscles because they really haven't healed all the way. I think I spent all of last summer alternating between an injured left shoulder and an injured right shoulder.
Tell me about it! A couple of years ago, I was moving a fallen tree from the road near my house. It had falled across one lane on a curve, and I was concerned that cars going around it would risk colliding with oncoming traffic. After clearing broken branches, I tried moving the trunk. I got the brilliant idea (NOT!) of running and pushing it on to the shoulder, and thinking it was rotted, I assumed it would break (it had fallen between two other trees). Well it didn't break, and once I got to the shoulder, I lost traction and the tree recoiled like a spring. I got thrown backward about 10 feet and 'thwacked' onto the pavement, and just about broke my hip. :redface: It took about 6 weeks for the pain to subside.

The idea that a person is old at 20 is just silly. All the good stuff starts happening in your 20's when you actually start accomplishing something instead of learning how other people accomplish things.
Yeah. Twenties is young. I was in my prime in my mid-20's.

I like where I am anyway. I've been to a lot of interesting places and met many interesting people, and I have a lot of good friends. :smile:
 
  • #15
Old is one year older than I am.
 
  • #16
I didn't start enjoying life until I was 32. I would never want to go back to being a child or a teenager unless I could retain all of the knowledge I have now.
 
  • #17
Evo said:
I didn't start enjoying life until I was 32. I would never want to go back to being a child or a teenager unless I could retain all of the knowledge I have now.
What happened at 32?
 
  • #18
Lamenting the loss of youth is a really pointless exercise. Live your life and be productive. When you're 50, you may look back wistfully and say "I wish I could go back 30 years and do things differently", but dwelling on regrets is poisonous to your well-being.
 
  • #19
turbo-1 said:
Lamenting the loss of youth is a really pointless exercise. Live your life and be productive. When you're 50, you may look back wistfully and say "I wish I could go back 30 years and do things differently", but dwelling on regrets is poisonous to your well-being.

Exactly! Although I'm 23 and turning 24, I don't feel like I'm getting old.

I focus on what I should do now and think about the future as I make my decisions and not look back at what I should have done differently.
 
  • #20
I think the first time I didn't get carded for buying beer was when I started feeling old.
 
  • #21
Benzoate said:
You know , the age limit you reach where you used up all your youthfulness. when does your rebellious meter start decreasing? For me its 20. I do anything to be a teenager again

Youthfulness itself has nothing to do with the "rebellious meter".
 
  • #22
i was in my 20's when i realized i needed to do something to stay fit, so i became a meat lugger. in my 50's, after 30 years as a lazy mathematician, i began to realize it did not matter what i did, nothing worked much anymore. now in my 60's when i pick fights with 30 year olds they make fun of my cane, or worse yet, they accept.
 
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  • #23
Evo said:
I didn't start enjoying life until I was 32. I would never want to go back to being a child or a teenager unless I could retain all of the knowledge I have now.

Heh, what a coincidence. I was 32 when I lost my virginity, too!
 
  • #24
BobG said:
Heh, what a coincidence. I was 32 when I lost my virginity, too!

:smile::smile::smile::smile:
 
  • #25
BobG said:
Heh, what a coincidence. I was 32 when I lost my virginity, too!
You said you'd never tell.
 
  • #26
never...
 
  • #27
BobG said:
Heh, what a coincidence. I was 32 when I lost my virginity, too!
Couldn't you have waited for some modicum of maturity?
 
  • #28
zoobyshoe said:
Couldn't you have waited for some modicum of maturity?
Maturity is highly overrated. When you're a kid, you're told that you need to gain some maturity before you understand the attitudes of your elders. Once you get to their age, you realize that in many cases you were being fed a line by people unable to justify their own behavior. The young do not have a monopoly on selfish, irrational, or just-plain-stupid behavior.
 
  • #29
turbo-1 said:
Maturity is highly overrated. When you're a kid, you're told that you need to gain some maturity before you understand the attitudes of your elders. Once you get to their age, you realize that in many cases you were being fed a line by people unable to justify their own behavior. The young do not have a monopoly on selfish, irrational, or just-plain-stupid behavior.
Absolutely true. Not particularly funny, though.
 
  • #30
Danger said:
With the exception of Tsu, I have trouble believing that any hot looking babe speaks to you at all. :-p

No comments from Mr. Wrinkles please. Now go back to chasing parked cars. :-p
 

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