But its kinda old Now. Besides, I’d never say you broke under torture, threw real heroes under the bus to let them die, and possibly blew both Koch brothers tandem-style for each re election dollar.
You might have integrity somewhere and not be a political whore. Call me an optimist, but I think so…
He’s 28??? Uh-oh, too late…
No. No, he’s not.
Tomorrow
This just begs a story. What happened in 2001? 3,000 people getting killed on 9/11 woke you up?
Actually, yes.
I said, “Wait, they just got killed in the name of God? All those people? And God did nothing?” The Problem of Evil, which I had avoided thinking about my entire life until then ended my tenuous religious belief and destroyed my Just World thinking. I then realized that there were no rewards in the afterlife for people who get screwed over in this one, that I wasn’t going to be judged by God on my religious thoughts but by humanity on my good actions, that every problem in the world is on us to fix, and that life is short and precious and finite.
This ^. And, I will add that I know plenty of people (male and female) much younger than the OP who do not act like jackasses. One that comes to mind is my boyfriend’s 21 year old son, he’s an absolute pleasure to be around.
A 28 year old guy?? No way. The OP is a 28 year old guy?? I was picturing an unpleasant 15 year old girl when I read all his posts! :eek:
53 for me. I’m now 56.
Me, too. Just a shame that it was too late to go back and fix everything I’d screwed up. But it was a major “oh, shit!” moment.
This. Like. +1. Word. Seconded.
Unsuckitude as a function of time is a logistic curve, not a Heaviside function.
I’d say not until my late-twenties.
In my early twenties, I was still an angsty teenager. I didn’t take personal responsibility for many things, and if I was moody about something, I made it clear to other people. By my mid-twenties, I started to learn that other people really don’t care about your shit and you should just suck it up and deal with it yourself, rather than bringing other people down with you.
But then I did have another epiphany when I was in my early thirties, which was to stop giving a shit about my work. I was WAY too emotionally invested in my job and cared WAY too much about whether the things we were doing were the right things to do or the wrong things to do. I took a big step back when I changed jobs, took the attitude that I would do what was asked of me, be proactive when I thought things could be done better or differently, but to not get upset if management didn’t listen or care. Since then, I’ve made great progression in my work and have gained increasingly senior roles, and I have much better work-life balance.
I am still as much of a jackass as I was in my twenties, I am just more circumspect about it. After about age 30 (when I became a father) I internalized my jack-assedness, so I still think most people are stupid and deserve to be taken advantage of, but I no longer act upon those thought. Much.
I’m in my early 50s now.
It was about the time I realized the world didn’t revolve around me and so I stopped asking self-indulgent questions for the sake of attention. So what, like highschool?
Around 21 when I made the decision to begin reading and learning again.
I’d say there’s were more than one instance when I smartened up.
14 - I was a problem child in grade 8 but grew out of it. I realized being defiant and pissed-off at everyone wasn’t worth it and made conscious effort to be friendly to everyone I met…ended up becoming extremely popular in high school.
27 - Started working full-time and being responsible.
35 - Got married, bought house, had first son, quit smoking, shut down the drinking, promotion at work, etc… It was also around this time that I had the epiphany that I really wanted to be an active participant in my community. So I began working with Scouts, Little League, Minor Hockey, and our community association.
Didn’t really stop sucking as a person until I was 37 or 38. That’s when I got my depression under control (better living through chemistry!) AND got into a job I actually enjoyed instead of just enduring AND just kind of finished maturing, mentally.
I acted like a teenager until I was about 26. And I’m very embarrassed by it. At the time I thought I was 100% correct, 100% of the time. Fortunately, what I’ve heard is that it’s a mark of maturity to look back upon your younger self and be embarrassed over it (but not constantly consumed with shame).
Also, I’ve always disliked people who are self-proclaimed assholes, seemingly proud of it. As if they’re trying to absolve themselves from all past and future offenses. “I can’t help it, it’s just the way I am…”
Two Cracked columns that may offer some insight.