# How old you are/How old you act. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681 "2005-01-31T22:58:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/21 "2005-02-01T12:51:11Z")
> [@jackelope](#): > > I’m 33. My behavior seems to swing pretty often between 6 and 60. > > This came up recently. I’m a returning student in law school, and most of my classmates are in their early to mid-20s. After finals last semester, I and a bunch of classmates were out drinking beer, and someone asked me how old I am. I said, “Thirty-three,” and a bunch of them expressed surprise that I was that old. > > I said, “In the attic at home, I have a portrait of myself that’s getting older and older.” > > I don’t think they got it. Aw, that’s too bad, **jackalope** ; not everybody receives an opportunity like that. "The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young. " ~Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891 ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/22 "2005-02-01T13:01:47Z")
32 year old / I’m pass for 28 I think my maturity is equivalent to a 25 year old though… but I can easily act much older… for about 20 mins. :rolleyes: yep… I’m a male. (aka immature) ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/23 "2005-02-01T13:39:18Z")
I’m 46, but I don’t look it or act it. People at work are always surprised to find out I’m old enough to be their dad. They assume I’m 30-something. I still have lots of the silly that was in me when I was 9, and sometimes I feel middle-aged, but thankfully it passes. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/24 "2005-02-01T13:44:39Z")
I’m 26. I act like a precocious 5 year old. Sometimes, I feel 122.25. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/25 "2005-02-01T13:54:14Z")
44 and constantly being told to act my age. so, 44 and oh, i’d say about abywhere from 19 to about 26, with occasional forays into the single digits. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/26 "2005-02-01T14:08:58Z")
I am 31 but my behavior spans the ages and always has. I was unusually mature for my age as a child but I retained a child’s behavior but also grew on my own. I can jump down and play as an equal with a two year old like my daughter and yet meet with a 60 year-old CEO in the same day and both of them think that I am strangely on their wavelength. My mother is the same way so I think that’s where I got it from. Frankly, I am amazed that people loose their childhood behaviors and desires as they get older. It always seemed idiotic to me but I am not sure that they were doing it on purpose. I am looking to build a large trolley in my backyard, not for my kids but for me (a wheeled handle hanging from a cable that you use to slide down a stretched metal cable). Kids always adore me and powerful adults think I am commendable so I think I have the best of both worlds. I have true friends and people that I can relate to from the ages 2 - 91. They are all people and all the same to me. I don’t understand at all why people should suppress some of their behaviors as they get older. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/27 "2005-02-01T14:17:33Z")
27/20 ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/28 "2005-02-01T14:35:45Z")
24/18 So help me if I have to outjump some kid on the swings, out distance some drunk in a pissing contest, or crush some 12 year old’s ego in Starcraft 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/29 "2005-02-01T14:40:02Z")
20/ a hyper-energetic 30. ---
**Author:** ![The\_27th\_Evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@The\_27th\_Evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_27th_Evil)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/30 "2005-02-01T14:40:55Z")
That was my post. Have to check before I post (sorry Robin). ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/31 "2005-02-01T14:44:31Z")
23/46 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/32 "2005-02-01T14:51:34Z")
42/ depends on the situation. Sometimes I feel ancient and sometimes I’m 5. Like **Shagnasty** , I have kept some of the child-like (not childish, but I can be that, too) traits. The day I stop feeling wonder at something, no matter how small, is the day I die. I like to play hid and seek with my 6 year old, and Legos, too. I also like to shop for nail polish with 15 year old and share Python jokes with my 13 y/o. That’s one of the biggest joys of having kids–you get to do it again, with the benefit of some perspective. It’s not all beer and skittles, but I’ll take it! ---
**Author:** ![JeffyDMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JeffyDMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffyDMan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/33 "2005-02-01T14:56:37Z")
I’m 25 and I act 25. That includes acting like a child, or being a responsible adult. Take from that what you will. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/34 "2005-02-01T17:15:52Z")
I’m 54. How I act depends on the situation. When I’m partying, I act about 25, unless I’m with people who act older; then I tone it down. I drive like I’m 54: I don’t speed, because I know I’m going to get there eventually. I also act my age when money is involved: I’m not easy to take advantage of. I can act like a kid when I’m with my kids, but when anyone tries to come down on them, I become grown up very quickly. When I’m with my wife, I really don’t have an age, I just am. That’s the best. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/35 "2005-02-01T18:54:19Z")
I’m 19. I guess I _act_ my age most of the time, but I often feel like a little kid (and not really in a good, fun way). ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/36 "2005-02-02T01:39:53Z")
41/anywhere from 30 - 50, depending. But I almost never feel like I’m acting the way a 41 YO **ought** to act, however that is supposed to be. Vlad/Igor ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/37 "2005-02-02T03:17:23Z")
> [@DarkSideoftheFloyd](#): > > 15/40 :rolleyes: **Who would have guessed?** I’m 67 and proud of it. I wouldn’t go back and certainly don’t want to jump ahead. At this age how do I act? Pretty damn much like the 1000 pound gorilla. Childlike, but don’t take too much shit. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/38 "2005-02-02T03:41:57Z")
51/51 Heh ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/39 "2005-02-02T06:09:02Z")
40/anywhere from 17 to 50, I suppose. Depends on what I’m doing. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681/40 "2005-02-02T06:52:11Z")
24/88 Vhat? _cough_ _wheeze_ Are you callin’ me a liar? Eh, sonny? Speak up, boy… ahhh… I remember, back in the day when… and uhh… zzz…ZZZZ…ZZzzzz.zzz [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-you-are-how-old-you-act/287681.md?page=3)