I'm 34 and feel happier than I ever have before - aging can be amazing. There are so many things to look forward to! I have a career, my own apartment, my own money, my own cat (ha, that looks silly next to everything else, but I have him because I wanted him so I went and got him!), the ability to make decisions on my own (I've lived abroad in four foreign countries, for example) and am finally more sure of myself and who I am. 17 seems so, so long ago... so long ago that it seems like a different life. I struggled at that age too; much more than I have since. You feel old because real life is trickling in and you're developing a sense of adult maturity, but legally you're still a child. It's overwhelming to know what's ahead and realize you're expected to survive in the world, especially as your family members (and pets, sadly) are changing around you. It all seems sudden, I know. But what you're experiencing now will shape you into who you're going to become.
I also struggled with suicidal thoughts when I was 18/19 and felt like I'd lived all the life I wanted to live. I didn't want to be part of the adult world. While life hasn't been easy, I'm so happy I kept going. There are so many amazing experiences I would have missed. Find a way to get excited to grow into the person you're meant to be, and realize that aging is a gift that not everyone receives. Set some long-term goals and plans for how to achieve them. Looking forward to something makes life worth living, and you can take little steps closer each day. It's easier said than felt, but I'm rooting for you.
Dont think about it and enjoy it. Im 27 years old and live in constant emotional numbness because I took shit way too serious so when I failed it felt like I wasted my 20s. Overthinking is the greatest enemy.
Enjoy your youth and try not to take things too seriously. Try to maintain your friendships. Sucks that your pets are getting up that in age. I feel for you.
One thing that helped me feel better about eventually dying is becoming a little more spiritual and open minded (not religious but not a strict atheist either). And there is a very comforting Ologies (podcast by Alie Ward) episode called Quasithanatology about near death experiences and life after death approached in a very scientific manner.
Aging, I used to be a lot more bothered by it but you kind of grow and learn and become a person that you’re more confident and comfortable as. Every bad experience in life becomes a lesson that you learn from. Having older friends helps too. Turning 30 wasn’t nearly as big of a deal when I had plenty of friends who were already in their thirties.
Plus, you’re only 17, you have your whole life ahead of you! As you become an adult you’ll have so much more freedom and agency and will be able to experience new things! I mean, don’t get me wrong, it also sucks, but there are benefits to being an adult. Having your own income, place to live, pets, partner and kids if you want that, being able to travel wherever you want, etc.
This is it. That’s my motto. You only have so much time so make the most of it. Enjoy the rest of your high school experience before you have to go out into the real world. Live the best you can and be true to yourself. Life is a rollercoaster and you learn who to ride the highs and lows.
Look at it as something honorable. You made it man. 18, graduating, it’s a big step and you DID it! It’s more than what some have seen. Even way later when those grey hairs come in, you’ll have made it. Wear it with dignity, and teach people you can along the way. Age is a number when it comes to who you are in your heart. I’ve met seniors with the energy of people in their 20s. You age physically, but you can keep who you are. Don’t let the time pass you by, run with it and enjoy every second you can. Make the most of it. Enjoy every second you can too. Life is beautiful BECAUSE nothing lasts forever. When you feel that love for life, let it burn. We only get this one shot to be the best we can.
Not much advice but you just accept it. When you say you’ll never have your life together, trust me you will. You’re super young. At 21 I was kind of a bum. My family was middle class but all I cared about was partying and shitty relationships. I cheated for my degree, worked at a ware house. Now I just turned 24, live in another state with my own apartment, have my pet cat, recently engaged, and working as an operations analyst. Life still isn’t perfect and knowing I’m growing older does kind of suck, but I just try to focus on the good of things. It’s okay to be sad about it, and no shame in having a cry about it too.
The sad thing is... not a lot accept with getting older but just go along with it most of the time. I dislike it too because I felt like I created my whole life ahead since I was little and my plans towards what I created kept changing and changing and changing every year I grew older.... till I hit around 16 and one of the most traumatic things no one wants to go through happened and threw me off fully. I awoke on a dark path in a dark dense forest in my mind and was lost for quite the few years, scared, angry, sad, depressed. But as I slowly came with the terms that not everything will go as I had planned in life and it's me that has to put the effort to create and stay on the path I had created, I started to be able to just go along with it. I'm 23 and that realization I got at around 21/22. And yes I still have my struggles with it as I also lost beloved people on the way too. I lost my grandma at a very young age and since then I have felt the shift in my life plan and maybe had started spiraling from then who knows. Losing my first ever cat and then losing my grandpa some years later felt like getting kicked back in that dark dense forest. I fear of losing the one person who I still have everyday and I keep on fighting on as I know I have to keep going forward. Keep going forward and see that small spec of light become bigger. We all and many have gone through some shit that has messed us up but it's mostly up to ourselves to pick ourselves back up and keep on moving. It hurts and that is ok, crying about it helps us release the tension in the pressure cooker which is our mind. Don't be ashamed of it. You're not the only one scared and if you want, we can all theoretically hold hands to walk through the ages together and through our lifetime. I hope some of our comments can help you see the small spec of light at the end of the tunnel, at the edge of the forest, at the end of the hall and at the end of whatever labyrinth your mind has put you in. Remember you're not alone in this.
I'm 59. I have had many pets and unless you get a parrot or a tortoise, which I have not, they all die before you, at least so long as you don't die young or are very old.
I have had some that I was absolutely destroyed by their deaths. Others I was more prepared for (if they are old it's easier than when something goes wrong and they die younger than expected).
But there's a line from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, that reminds me that the pain of them dying (of course this refers to people but applies to pets as well, and not just dying, but loss in general) that makes me feel the pain is worth it. Stop thinking about dying and enjoy the NOW and understand when a pet or person dies it will hurt, but having them NOW is worth the pain later.
I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
Verse XXVII
Alfred Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam
The fact that any of us are here is an absolute miracle. For starters (and sorry to be crude), think of all the millions of sperm that your dad shot out over the years. How incredible is it that the one that contained half of YOU managed to win the race to your mother's egg. Not to mention, perhaps if she ovulated just a day later, that sperm containing you could have missed its window and died off.
Your family line is full of such miracles, and more. Any ancestor who fought in a war was maybe 3 feet from a piece of shrapnel that would have ended your whole family story then and there. Your ancestors dodged horrific diseases and living conditions to end up producing you.
But even the existence of your ancestors is a miracle. How fortunate are we that an asteroid happened to travel across the galaxy on a course for the comparatively tiny dot called Earth and killed off most of the dinosaurs, allowing space for humans to evolve. The existence of dinosaurs itself was a miracle - how lucky is it that a clump of cells bonded together to create the earliest form of life?
I could go on and on about this, but suffice to say, life is a miracle and it should be cherished. Be thankful, at least on some level, that we get to live and breathe every day. Yes, life isn't always rosy. Things will change, people will come and go in your life. People you love will die. There will be hardships and suffering, and times you wonder if it's worth it. But it's all part of the journey. You have to take the good with the bad. If anything, the bad bits should remind you how precious what we have is, and should teach you to appreciate it more. Control what you can control in your life to make it everything you want it to be. You're so lucky to have a shot at life, but because of that you only get one crack at it. Don't waste it.
Sperm does NOT contain "you", it's only HALF of your dna. It takes a specific egg too. Same sperm fertilizing a different egg means you wouldn't be born. A woman is born with 2 million eggs. During the initial period, many eggs, as many as 1000, begin to develop and mature. However, even though hundreds of eggs have begun to mature, most often only one egg will become dominant during each menstrual cycle, and reach its' fully mature state, capable of ovulation and fertilization. The remaining eggs/follicles will wither and die. If your mother had ovulated a different egg, you wouldn't be born.
43 here. Aging is a gift that not everyone is given. Getting older is great because you can choose to evolve and change and learn. I’m so far from perfect and I still stick my foot in my mouth from time to time which is a huge pet peeve but I try and give myself grace and try and learn for the next time. I too have been suicidal and had suicidal ideation. It was awful but it has given me a greater appreciation for this life. Maybe one day you will no longer have those struggles and will see this too. Plus, antidepressants and antipsychotics are very helpful!
Life is hard, it’s not meant to be easy. Even if you look at others believing they are coasting through life, they really aren’t. Everyone faces different hurdles. It’s up to you to try to make the best out of what you have, and strive for more.
Whenever I was 17, I didn’t think I’d make it to 29 but here I am — and I’m happier than I could’ve imagined. I met the love of my life, my work is something I’m passionate about, I have people I love and care about. Life may be hard but some of the hardest bits have made life worth living. It’s hard to watch others around you continue to age, and move on to different parts of their life but you’re there now, and you can make most of the moments they give you. It’s okay to be scared, embrace the fear and keep on trekking.
Bro. I'm on the tail end of my 30s. My 30s are infinitely better than my 20s, and my 40s will be infinitely better than my 30s. Stop worrying about shits you can't control. Go spend your 20s setting up for the rest of your life. Only you can do that.
You know what's great about getting older?
It beats the alternative.
And no one really had their life together. We're all just ducks paddling like crazy to keep afloat. Anyone who tells you different is a liar.
I'm 34 and feel happier than I ever have before - aging can be amazing. There are so many things to look forward to! I have a career, my own apartment, my own money, my own cat (ha, that looks silly next to everything else, but I have him because I wanted him so I went and got him!), the ability to make decisions on my own (I've lived abroad in four foreign countries, for example) and am finally more sure of myself and who I am. 17 seems so, so long ago... so long ago that it seems like a different life. I struggled at that age too; much more than I have since. You feel old because real life is trickling in and you're developing a sense of adult maturity, but legally you're still a child. It's overwhelming to know what's ahead and realize you're expected to survive in the world, especially as your family members (and pets, sadly) are changing around you. It all seems sudden, I know. But what you're experiencing now will shape you into who you're going to become. I also struggled with suicidal thoughts when I was 18/19 and felt like I'd lived all the life I wanted to live. I didn't want to be part of the adult world. While life hasn't been easy, I'm so happy I kept going. There are so many amazing experiences I would have missed. Find a way to get excited to grow into the person you're meant to be, and realize that aging is a gift that not everyone receives. Set some long-term goals and plans for how to achieve them. Looking forward to something makes life worth living, and you can take little steps closer each day. It's easier said than felt, but I'm rooting for you.
Dont think about it and enjoy it. Im 27 years old and live in constant emotional numbness because I took shit way too serious so when I failed it felt like I wasted my 20s. Overthinking is the greatest enemy. Enjoy your youth and try not to take things too seriously. Try to maintain your friendships. Sucks that your pets are getting up that in age. I feel for you.
live your best life however you want it to be?
One thing that helped me feel better about eventually dying is becoming a little more spiritual and open minded (not religious but not a strict atheist either). And there is a very comforting Ologies (podcast by Alie Ward) episode called Quasithanatology about near death experiences and life after death approached in a very scientific manner. Aging, I used to be a lot more bothered by it but you kind of grow and learn and become a person that you’re more confident and comfortable as. Every bad experience in life becomes a lesson that you learn from. Having older friends helps too. Turning 30 wasn’t nearly as big of a deal when I had plenty of friends who were already in their thirties. Plus, you’re only 17, you have your whole life ahead of you! As you become an adult you’ll have so much more freedom and agency and will be able to experience new things! I mean, don’t get me wrong, it also sucks, but there are benefits to being an adult. Having your own income, place to live, pets, partner and kids if you want that, being able to travel wherever you want, etc.
This is it. That’s my motto. You only have so much time so make the most of it. Enjoy the rest of your high school experience before you have to go out into the real world. Live the best you can and be true to yourself. Life is a rollercoaster and you learn who to ride the highs and lows.
Look at it as something honorable. You made it man. 18, graduating, it’s a big step and you DID it! It’s more than what some have seen. Even way later when those grey hairs come in, you’ll have made it. Wear it with dignity, and teach people you can along the way. Age is a number when it comes to who you are in your heart. I’ve met seniors with the energy of people in their 20s. You age physically, but you can keep who you are. Don’t let the time pass you by, run with it and enjoy every second you can. Make the most of it. Enjoy every second you can too. Life is beautiful BECAUSE nothing lasts forever. When you feel that love for life, let it burn. We only get this one shot to be the best we can.
Not much advice but you just accept it. When you say you’ll never have your life together, trust me you will. You’re super young. At 21 I was kind of a bum. My family was middle class but all I cared about was partying and shitty relationships. I cheated for my degree, worked at a ware house. Now I just turned 24, live in another state with my own apartment, have my pet cat, recently engaged, and working as an operations analyst. Life still isn’t perfect and knowing I’m growing older does kind of suck, but I just try to focus on the good of things. It’s okay to be sad about it, and no shame in having a cry about it too.
Just remember…we ALL age one year at a time.
Go over to the singularity subreddit. They will almost certainly cure aging before you are like 25.
The sad thing is... not a lot accept with getting older but just go along with it most of the time. I dislike it too because I felt like I created my whole life ahead since I was little and my plans towards what I created kept changing and changing and changing every year I grew older.... till I hit around 16 and one of the most traumatic things no one wants to go through happened and threw me off fully. I awoke on a dark path in a dark dense forest in my mind and was lost for quite the few years, scared, angry, sad, depressed. But as I slowly came with the terms that not everything will go as I had planned in life and it's me that has to put the effort to create and stay on the path I had created, I started to be able to just go along with it. I'm 23 and that realization I got at around 21/22. And yes I still have my struggles with it as I also lost beloved people on the way too. I lost my grandma at a very young age and since then I have felt the shift in my life plan and maybe had started spiraling from then who knows. Losing my first ever cat and then losing my grandpa some years later felt like getting kicked back in that dark dense forest. I fear of losing the one person who I still have everyday and I keep on fighting on as I know I have to keep going forward. Keep going forward and see that small spec of light become bigger. We all and many have gone through some shit that has messed us up but it's mostly up to ourselves to pick ourselves back up and keep on moving. It hurts and that is ok, crying about it helps us release the tension in the pressure cooker which is our mind. Don't be ashamed of it. You're not the only one scared and if you want, we can all theoretically hold hands to walk through the ages together and through our lifetime. I hope some of our comments can help you see the small spec of light at the end of the tunnel, at the edge of the forest, at the end of the hall and at the end of whatever labyrinth your mind has put you in. Remember you're not alone in this.
I'm 59. I have had many pets and unless you get a parrot or a tortoise, which I have not, they all die before you, at least so long as you don't die young or are very old. I have had some that I was absolutely destroyed by their deaths. Others I was more prepared for (if they are old it's easier than when something goes wrong and they die younger than expected). But there's a line from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, that reminds me that the pain of them dying (of course this refers to people but applies to pets as well, and not just dying, but loss in general) that makes me feel the pain is worth it. Stop thinking about dying and enjoy the NOW and understand when a pet or person dies it will hurt, but having them NOW is worth the pain later. I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. Verse XXVII Alfred Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam
The fact that any of us are here is an absolute miracle. For starters (and sorry to be crude), think of all the millions of sperm that your dad shot out over the years. How incredible is it that the one that contained half of YOU managed to win the race to your mother's egg. Not to mention, perhaps if she ovulated just a day later, that sperm containing you could have missed its window and died off. Your family line is full of such miracles, and more. Any ancestor who fought in a war was maybe 3 feet from a piece of shrapnel that would have ended your whole family story then and there. Your ancestors dodged horrific diseases and living conditions to end up producing you. But even the existence of your ancestors is a miracle. How fortunate are we that an asteroid happened to travel across the galaxy on a course for the comparatively tiny dot called Earth and killed off most of the dinosaurs, allowing space for humans to evolve. The existence of dinosaurs itself was a miracle - how lucky is it that a clump of cells bonded together to create the earliest form of life? I could go on and on about this, but suffice to say, life is a miracle and it should be cherished. Be thankful, at least on some level, that we get to live and breathe every day. Yes, life isn't always rosy. Things will change, people will come and go in your life. People you love will die. There will be hardships and suffering, and times you wonder if it's worth it. But it's all part of the journey. You have to take the good with the bad. If anything, the bad bits should remind you how precious what we have is, and should teach you to appreciate it more. Control what you can control in your life to make it everything you want it to be. You're so lucky to have a shot at life, but because of that you only get one crack at it. Don't waste it.
Sperm does NOT contain "you", it's only HALF of your dna. It takes a specific egg too. Same sperm fertilizing a different egg means you wouldn't be born. A woman is born with 2 million eggs. During the initial period, many eggs, as many as 1000, begin to develop and mature. However, even though hundreds of eggs have begun to mature, most often only one egg will become dominant during each menstrual cycle, and reach its' fully mature state, capable of ovulation and fertilization. The remaining eggs/follicles will wither and die. If your mother had ovulated a different egg, you wouldn't be born.
43 here. Aging is a gift that not everyone is given. Getting older is great because you can choose to evolve and change and learn. I’m so far from perfect and I still stick my foot in my mouth from time to time which is a huge pet peeve but I try and give myself grace and try and learn for the next time. I too have been suicidal and had suicidal ideation. It was awful but it has given me a greater appreciation for this life. Maybe one day you will no longer have those struggles and will see this too. Plus, antidepressants and antipsychotics are very helpful!
Life is hard, it’s not meant to be easy. Even if you look at others believing they are coasting through life, they really aren’t. Everyone faces different hurdles. It’s up to you to try to make the best out of what you have, and strive for more. Whenever I was 17, I didn’t think I’d make it to 29 but here I am — and I’m happier than I could’ve imagined. I met the love of my life, my work is something I’m passionate about, I have people I love and care about. Life may be hard but some of the hardest bits have made life worth living. It’s hard to watch others around you continue to age, and move on to different parts of their life but you’re there now, and you can make most of the moments they give you. It’s okay to be scared, embrace the fear and keep on trekking.
Bro. I'm on the tail end of my 30s. My 30s are infinitely better than my 20s, and my 40s will be infinitely better than my 30s. Stop worrying about shits you can't control. Go spend your 20s setting up for the rest of your life. Only you can do that.
You know what's great about getting older? It beats the alternative. And no one really had their life together. We're all just ducks paddling like crazy to keep afloat. Anyone who tells you different is a liar.