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Nathilus posted:That said you gotta keep thankful for what you do have, and I'm happy to not be balding AND be one of those dudes with a lumpy, awkward skull. One of my good friends looks TERRIBLE with a shaved head and there's nothing he'll ever be able to do about it. If he starts balding he's gonna have to spend the rest of his life in a hat. Thankfully, I have a full head of thick hair (it runs in the family) and I used to keep it cut extremely short because that's how my ex liked it. However, I didn't really care for it. Now I keep it short but not "what kind of windowless van do you drive" short. Looking back at some guys I graduated with, I see that the ones who were obsessed with their hair then now have very little of it now. I'm just now seeing a few gray hairs. My parents didn't start going gray until their late 50s.
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Sep 10, 2014 03:04
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Mister Kingdom posted:Thankfully, I have a full head of thick hair (it runs in the family) and I used to keep it cut extremely short because that's how my ex liked it. However, I didn't really care for it. Now I keep it short but not "what kind of windowless van do you drive" short. I started going in my late teens, but it really took off in my early to mid 20s and now I've got a distinct salt/pepper/brown thing going on in spots. I always love it when I hear someone absolutely freaking out about finding a single strand of gray hair in their 30s or 40s like it's the end of the world and they officially have one foot in the grave now. 
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Sep 10, 2014 03:17
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I dated a guy with a thinning, fragile ponytail 10+ years ago who always said that when it got "too bad" he was going to shave his head. We're Facebook friends now and he still has the ponytail, you just can't tell he has hair at all from a head-on photograph. 
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Sep 10, 2014 05:22
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Pinky Artichoke posted:I dated a guy with a thinning, fragile ponytail 10+ years ago who always said that when it got "too bad" he was going to shave his head. We're Facebook friends now and he still has the ponytail, you just can't tell he has hair at all from a head-on photograph. Like I was sayin dawg, shits harder than it sounds when it comes down to the wire. Saying it, that's not that hard part. It's letting go~... But yes please hunt me down and mercy-kill me if that ends up being me in five to ten years. Thanks.
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Sep 10, 2014 05:27
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I'm a couple of months from 30 now, and I think the biggest change for me is the fact that I am getting more and more comfortable with myself. I'm a slight deviation from the norm, as most of the people my age are getting married and having children whilst I live on my own with my dog and cats, but I'm cool with that now. I don't worry too much about it, although the difference is becoming more apparent. I used to have awful, awful anxiety but I've found that the more experiences I have with that, the more I am getting able to deal with it. Things really do get better with age in terms of being able to deal with stuff. Being able to say 'Haha, I never get hangovers!' like I did in my early 20's though, those are days past. Oh god the hangovers now. Also, the little things have started mattering more. I want to have a tidy house! I feel accomplishment when I do all the house work and feel good about it. Like, genuinely good that I have done the stuff. It sounds a bit weird to think about it, but yeah those things do bring me happiness.
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Sep 10, 2014 09:38
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Male, nearing 28. I've always been tall and never had to diet to have a slim/athletic shape until I was 25. I almost never drink beer, I have around three bottles of wine a month and my diet is pretty good and low calorie. However, because I work at a desk 11 hours a day on a graveyard shift, I went from 145 to just above 200 pounds. Thankfully I just look bigger all around but my stomach is flabbier than ever. Never have I had a six - pack but it has always been flat. It's really upsetting. I can't drink like I used too. I'll get a mild hangover even after a few drinks. It's because I'm older and I don't workout. Apparently it is really odd that I don't workout at all as all of my peers have a daily routine. It's a behavior that will probably destroy me in five years or so if I don't change.
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Sep 10, 2014 12:08
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Inzombiac posted:Male, nearing 28. I've always been tall and never had to diet to have a slim/athletic shape until I was 25. I almost never drink beer, I have around three bottles of wine a month and my diet is pretty good and low calorie. However, because I work at a desk 11 hours a day on a graveyard shift, I went from 145 to just above 200 pounds. Thankfully I just look bigger all around but my stomach is flabbier than ever. Never have I had a six - pack but it has always been flat. It's really upsetting. I'm 53 and have been working out my entire adult life. It has paid off immensely. I can still do everything I could physically at 23. I routinely work out with people young enough to be my sons/daughters and can keep up or surpass them in just about anything except for speed (sprints, etc.) Speed really does decrease with age, but not endurance if you keep yourself in shape. The only thing I can't do now that I could at 23 is stay out all night, or drink a lot. Back then, I could stay out all night partying, come home and grab about 3-4 hours of sleep, go to work, come home and grab a 1/2 hour nap, then go out and do it again. Now, if I don't get my 7-8 hours I'm worthless the next day. More so if it involved drinking.
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Sep 10, 2014 17:45
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Cat Army
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Pinky Artichoke posted:Oh god, my 20s were the worst. Way too much work, way too much paranoia about my work, always feeling like I was getting too old too quickly without accomplishing enough, and no comfort in my own skin. This is pretty much where I am right now. I've been super anxious lately about turning 25 soon and I feel like I'm probably doing everything wrong. This thread has really helped me get some much-needed perspective, actually. So thanks all.
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Sep 12, 2014 11:16
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The biggest thing I've noticed is that when you age you don't bend anymore, you break.
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Sep 12, 2014 17:03
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Nathilus posted:The worst thing about getting older is that time never stops speeding up. I'm 32 now and it's already insanely breakneck. Remember how as a kid a long, golden summer could last what seemed like forever? Well by your 20s it has turned into two and a half to three pretty short months, and by the time you're 30 you can blink and drat near miss one. Pretty alarming if you ask me. According to my older relatives, THIS KEEPS HAPPENING UNTIL YOU DIE. Just wow. Not cool. I'm 30 now, sup 30 goons. This was posted on the first page but cannot be emphasized enough, and my family makes sure to remind me of this fact every time we're together. Time keeps going by more quickly. It is a weird feeling of amazing bullshit. Time fuckin flies by, but when you reflect on that fact you can recall in detail just how many goddamn things you've done over the last X months, so... obviously it's been a really long period. It is difficult to explain. Krieger posted:I'm a couple of months from 30 now, and I think the biggest change for me is the fact that I am getting more and more comfortable with myself. I'm a slight deviation from the norm, as most of the people my age are getting married and having children whilst I live on my own with my dog and cats, but I'm cool with that now. I don't worry too much about it, although the difference is becoming more apparent. This is all spot-on too. I live in a place where I should statistically have 2 kids and a mortgage. I just married my wife in June, rent a house, and we travel a lot. I am so OK with this. I get day-long hangovers from anything more than 3 glasses of wine at dinner. I know better when to take a stand versus when to let poo poo slide. The latter is like 90% of any time ever. I am pretty comfortable with where my life is and don't feel much of a need to be outstanding in any way. This doesn't stop me from trying to excel at things I feel passionately about, or just resigning myself to a life of comfortable mediocrity, but these things come naturally now instead of as an emergent crisis. More than anything I feel like I've maintained enough of a perspective that instead of just getting older, my peer group has expanded. I can relate just as easily to a 45 year old as I can to a 24 year old these days. It's great! Don't be afraid of getting older!
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Sep 12, 2014 17:51
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whitey delenda est posted:Don't be afraid of getting older! Don't listen to him! He lies! You must fear age like you would a tiger waiting outside your front door. Age waits to eat your accomplishments, your face and your memories. Sort of like Dick Cheney. If you don't believe me just wait until you see that first white pubic hair, after which you will cast yourself from a high place into the sea. And if you live somewhere far away from the sea then you will first go online to get a plane ticket to the sea. Get one of those upgrades to the exit row because screw riding in a plane with your knees jammed into your face while you ride to your doom. 
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Sep 12, 2014 19:39
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Dick Trauma posted:Don't listen to him! He lies! You must fear age like you would a tiger waiting outside your front door. Age waits to eat your accomplishments, your face and your memories. Sort of like Dick Cheney. Does look like Dick Cheney at that.
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Sep 12, 2014 20:03
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I turned 38 this past June. It wasn't until about last year that I started to think of myself as old-er. There's actually plenty of good in getting older, but plenty of bad too. The good: I don't drink nearly as much. Also, acquiring the humility and patience to realize one doesn't always have to be right or win or be the center of attention. Also, financial independence is nice. Sums that I fretted over just out of college are more like "Meh, rounding error" these days. Also, no more worrying about "fitting in". I don't care what other people think about what I wear, the kind of music I listen to, or anything else. In matters of style, I enjoy what I enjoy and so be it. I also like to keep learning new things, keeping up with technology or trends. The bad: I don't drink nearly as much. Balding and having an ugly bullet head underneath also sucks. I keep it cropped short, the best I can do. Stiffness and getting heavier isn't fun either. I used to work out a lot, but circumstances and age have me going to the gym once or twice a week, walking at lunch, situps and pushups when I have a chance. I'm large man and keeping the weight off is challenging. My parents are in their mid-70s and dealing with their aging has sucked far more. My father was obese his whole life and abhorred exercise and all those choices have caught up with them. My parents are also doing the typical old person thing and denying that they can no longer take care of two houses without any outside help. It's frustrating to say the least. I love my folks dearly and dread the days when they pass on. I'm happily married, but my wife and I both suffer from infertility so that has sucked. I was talking with my mom about getting older a few months ago and she told me how when she turned thirty she wailed and complained how old she was to her parents. She laughed and said, "Little did I know."
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Sep 12, 2014 21:10
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MoraleHazard posted:My parents are in their mid-70s and dealing with their aging has sucked far more. My father was obese his whole life and abhorred exercise and all those choices have caught up with them. My parents are also doing the typical old person thing and denying that they can no longer take care of two houses without any outside help. It's frustrating to say the least. I love my folks dearly and dread the days when they pass on. Yeah, this is a big one for me. My parents are still in their 60s and in good health but I live pretty far away from them. It makes me value the time we get to spend together more when we have it, but I also worry about the future. My dad has been fit off and on through the years, but he's obese and has niggling little injuries that limit his mobility now, and I worry about him getting to the point where he can't turn it around. Some part of him seems to feel like it'll be as easy to whip himself into shape (whenever he gets around to it) as it was when he was 40.
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Sep 12, 2014 21:54
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More money, less worries, having legitimate options in the job market, including waltzing into interviews like you own the place. My thirties are a hell of a lot more awesome than my twenties ever were. Just don't have children until you're well and truly ready, if at all. There are no guarantees in life, and making GBS threads out a kid just in case you're worried about spending old age alone isn't worth it. MightyJoe36 posted:The only thing I can't do now that I could at 23 is stay out all night, or drink a lot. Back then, I could stay out all night partying, come home and grab about 3-4 hours of sleep, go to work, come home and grab a 1/2 hour nap, then go out and do it again. I couldn't do this even at eighteen. I tried this a few months back, and woke up drunk at check-out time, was drunk at the airport and fell asleep in a puddle of my own drool on the plane. ditty bout my clitty fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Sep 12, 2014 |
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Sep 12, 2014 23:34
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BarqueCat posted:When to take a stand or make a big deal out of something and when to let it go. Everything used to be a challenge. When I was right EVERYONE had to know it. I am too lazy for that crap now. My brain does a lot more time vs. value vs. money calculations than ever. Which I think is a good thing. I'm part of the more optimistic crowd when it comes to the "getting old" conversations. I really don't miss my younger days all that much. For example, whenever my friends and I decide to get together, we can all afford to buy really awesome food, premium beers if we're so inclined, and get together on our own terms at our own place. Back when we were broke youngsters, we ate crappier food because it's all we could afford, and had to schedule get togethers around our parents' presence in our homes. Either that, or we had to organize an event at whatever local crappy restaurant was within bus/walking distance. melon cat fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Sep 13, 2014 |
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Sep 13, 2014 00:15
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I'm a few months away from being thirty and what I'm actually realizing is that being thirty isn't old, like, even a little. Because I started exercising a lot I'm actually a lot thinner and leaner than I was during my early twenties and because there's a quirk in my genetics (I'm sort of androgynous and I have really nice skin) I look like I'm 16 years old. I get some joint pain though and I get tired more easily, but other then that it's been less horrible than I anticipated. I really feel like my twenties were total bullshit (mostly because of the recession) and I'm starting to become good at things, starting to earn more money, and I care about the world and my place in it.
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Sep 13, 2014 06:47
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Wet Bandits Copycat posted:I'm a few months away from being thirty and what I'm actually realizing is that being thirty isn't old, like, even a little. Ehlers Danlos syndrome?
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Sep 13, 2014 07:34
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I'm 36 and my hair is slowly thinning. However, that hasn't stopped new hair from forming in terrible unforseen places. I have to check my ears pretty regularly and I'll get a wild hair that will grow out of my cheek, just under my right eye. Without weekly trimming, I would have hoot-owl eyebrows, ear beards and my right eye would have a tail. On top of all this, my chest and beard are already graying and unevenly at that. I'll have a gray goatee and sideburn on one side only eventually.
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Sep 13, 2014 08:38
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CannedMacabre posted:I'm 36 and my hair is slowly thinning. However, that hasn't stopped new hair from forming in terrible unforseen places. I have to check my ears pretty regularly and I'll get a wild hair that will grow out of my cheek, just under my right eye. Without weekly trimming, I would have hoot-owl eyebrows, ear beards and my right eye would have a tail. On top of all this, my chest and beard are already graying and unevenly at that. I'll have a gray goatee and sideburn on one side only eventually. Yeah, I hate the hair in other places stuff too. It's like the cruelest joke. No hair on my head, but hair on my back. Bleh.
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Sep 13, 2014 12:46
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MoraleHazard posted:Yeah, I hate the hair in other places stuff too. It's like the cruelest joke. No hair on my head, but hair on my back. Bleh. Nose hair is my enemy. One day, I discovered some weird fibrous hairs growing out of the edge of my ears.
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Sep 13, 2014 13:20
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MoraleHazard posted:Yeah, I hate the hair in other places stuff too. It's like the cruelest joke. No hair on my head, but hair on my back. Bleh. It makes me laugh. The white hair grows faster, so if I don't get a haircut pretty often, it's incredibly obvious at my temples. I'm still vain enough to pluck them out of my beard, though.
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Sep 13, 2014 13:35
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If I plucked the white hairs out of my beard I'd have a bald spot under my chin.
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Sep 13, 2014 19:09
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I feel lucky that I noticed so many men had gross hair bursting out of their ears and nose so that when my time came I stood ready to guard against that poo poo. My eyebrow hairs are turning to goddamn wire, too so on a weekly basis I have to trim them down and pull out the crazy ones before I turn into Andy Rooney.
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Sep 14, 2014 01:52
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CannedMacabre posted:If I plucked the white hairs out of my beard I'd have a bald spot under my chin. Yeah, I'm just getting the occasional one at the corners of my mouth so far. When it gets worse, I'll just live with stripes.
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Sep 14, 2014 03:13
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The reason why time goes faster when we're older - we create lots of "bumps" in our memory as children since there's so many new and unique events we absorb. When we get older, we fall into routine and create less bumps since it's all familiar territory. A good article about it - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201004/why-time-goes-faster-you-get-older quote:I just finished reading two very interesting books on time perception. The first is the aptly titled, "Why Life Speeds Up As You Get Older: How Memory Shapes our Past" by Douwe Draaisma. The other is Philip Zimbardo's and John Boyd's "The Time Paradox." The first deals with the topic of this post, the second discusses ways to use time to your advantage - a topic for a future post. So basically - do new stuff often and time will move slower since you're creating more memories.
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Sep 14, 2014 03:37
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39 year old man here. I miss being able to eat whatever I wanted whenever I want to. No special diet, but I really have to think about what I eat or I will get fat. My metabolism really took a downturn in my 30s somewhere. My hair is graying, but I don't mind. I got lumbago this year, and believe me that having back pain for no real reason su-u-ucks. My body no longer bounces back from injuries like it used to. Aches and pains last longer. Around midnight I get dead tired whatever I'm doing and I just want to get home and go to bed. The good side is that I make sure to get a good nights sleep, and I can get up early when I need to. Grandparents and parents get old and die. That's probably the worst of it.
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Sep 14, 2014 20:34
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axolotl farmer posted:39 year old man here. Yeah, this is something that started in about my 40s. I think I've been to at least 1 funeral or wake per year since then. That's about the age that I also realized that my parents were when it seemed like they were going to funerals a lot. Also realized that I'm now the same age my dad was when he had his first heart attack.
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Sep 15, 2014 14:59
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Two other things I didn't mention. First: In early adulthood you still won't think of yourself as an adult. You'll see your friends getting married, having babies, getting divorced, talking about 401ks or whatever, and you'll think, That's poo poo my parents do. You grow up by a matter of degrees, never all at once. Second: A clarification on that whole empathy thing. When you're a teenager it's easy to sympathize but harder to empathize. It's like watching someone die in a movie. You might feel shocked and you might feel sad--generically sad--but neither of those feelings stop you from having a second slice of pizza at dinner, right? As you get older that changes. Something happens to you that humbles you and separates you from that detached sympathy. The first time you feel what grief is like--real grief, the kind you can't control, the kind that's so powerful you aren't even ashamed to show it because shame doesn't loving matter at that point--it makes you look back and think about all the times you weren't there for someone, or brushed off their feelings, or told them it didn't matter. That empathy becomes regret. And all lol-nerd video game references aside, regret really can change your nature. Take it from a dude who invaded Iraq.
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Sep 15, 2014 15:06
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Here's a weird thing about getting older in this particular day and age: dead Facebook friends. Every once in a while, face book will say "Your friend Joe Shmo likes such and such..." And I'm looking at it thinking, "Interesting, considering Joe is dead." Or, you send someone a friend request and they don't respond and then you find out they've died and you hadn't heard.
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Sep 15, 2014 17:15
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Nice post and username combo there. 30 in a few weeks and yeah, the time thing is definitely true. I have a hard time remembering if the trip I took to country X was this past summer or the year prior, I literally have to dig in my own Facebook feed to get exact dates for things. Even here on SA, hard to believe I have been a goon over 10 years.
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Sep 16, 2014 02:17
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MightyJoe36 posted:Yeah, this is something that started in about my 40s. I think I've been to at least 1 funeral or wake per year since then. That's about the age that I also realized that my parents were when it seemed like they were going to funerals a lot. There's a big age gap in my family, so my grandparents started dying when I was in my teens mostly. But I have started to get this little twinge of fear that I really need to spend quality time with my parents now while they're still healthy/active because dementia tends to run in my family and I'm afraid I won't get that time later.
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Sep 16, 2014 11:17
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Kimmalah posted:There's a big age gap in my family, so my grandparents started dying when I was in my teens mostly. But I have started to get this little twinge of fear that I really need to spend quality time with my parents now while they're still healthy/active because dementia tends to run in my family and I'm afraid I won't get that time later. Do it! When I was in my 20s I was fortunate to live close to my parents and spent a fair amount of time with them. I went shooting w/ my Dad, we nerded out and played MMO's together, etc. Getting to know my parents as an adult was probably one of the best aspects of life.
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Sep 16, 2014 15:26
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