# I'm turning 35 in a little over an hour, and I don't like it one bit. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295 "2014-07-29T02:49:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/1 "2014-07-29T02:49:04Z")
I _reaaaaally_ don’t want to do this. Even on my 34th birthday, I still felt like I could call myself “young.” Very soon I’ll be closer to 40 than 30, and as silly and superficial as it sounds, I don’t want to be that old yet. Yet tomorrow, I will be outside the most highly sought-after market of 18-34 year olds. There are so many things I thought I would’ve accomplished by now. Graduated college (will do so around the end of next year), have gotten married (still looking for Ms. Right), and have been a homeowner. I’m not grown up yet. My age does not reflect where I am in life right now. I’m sure a few 50- or 60-somethings will look at this OP and get a good chuckle, and I know I’ll be chuckling as well when I’m your age. But right now, this seems too real, and I’m aging faster than I’m accomplishing things. Is there any way I can bargain for just another couple of weeks of being not-35? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/2 "2014-07-29T02:51:32Z")
I turned 35 a few days ago. My parents didn’t send me any money as a birthday gift, just a text message. It’s the first time this has happened. I was wondering when the time would come. Well, here we are. I guess I’m officially old now. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/3 "2014-07-29T02:58:25Z")
I turned 70 three weeks ago. Never happier in my life. Not about being that age and realizing I may die tomorrow or in the next 15 years. Just satisfied that I have done what I could, regretting what I could have done, but making peace with what is. You don’t have to like it, but know you have many more years to make your destiny a bit better. Go for it. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/4 "2014-07-29T04:04:32Z")
I’m currently 49 or, as I prefer to say, in my very late 30’s. Age is just a number, just party on until you can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/5 "2014-07-29T05:07:05Z")
**Agent** , I’m about six months behind you, and feel the exact same way. Was recently at a get-together with a bunch of old friends; I was the only one among them who wasn’t a college-graduated, child and spouse-having homeowner. ---
**Author:** ![7e42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/51bf81/32.png) [@7e42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7e42)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/6 "2014-07-29T05:09:42Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I turned 35 a few days ago. My parents didn’t send me any money as a birthday gift, just a text message. It’s the first time this has happened. I was wondering when the time would come. > > Well, here we are. I guess I’m officially old now. ☹ I always felt text messages were inappropriate when contacting a relative on their birthday ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/7 "2014-07-29T05:11:45Z")
Well, you can finally run for president if all else fails:) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/8 "2014-07-29T05:17:37Z")
Turning 35 ain’t so bad, when you consider the alternative. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/9 "2014-07-29T05:21:45Z")
I’m exactly 3 months older than you. I guess I’m “lucky” because everything past 30 has sucked so far so it didn’t even occur to me that 35 might be worse. Happy birthday anyway, kid. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/10 "2014-07-29T05:21:50Z")
> [@7e42](#): > > I always felt text messages were inappropriate when contacting a relative on their birthday Well, they know that I don’t pick up the phone on my birthday. I freaking hate birthdays. “Yay, you’re even older!” Yeah, thanks a lot, that’s exactly what I’m trying to forget. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/11 "2014-07-29T05:35:41Z")
My standing advice: Be who, what, and where you want to be - by age 30!. You’re slipping - the older you get, the more difficult changing those things become. Get with it, already! ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/12 "2014-07-29T05:45:17Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > My standing advice: > > Be who, what, and where you want to be - by age 30!. > > You’re slipping - the older you get, the more difficult changing those things become. Get with it, already! Gee, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/13 "2014-07-29T05:51:32Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > My standing advice: > > Be who, what, and where you want to be - by age 30! \*Now \*you’re telling us. A bit late, yeah? There’s one good thing, though, about being 35 and not having the house, the wife and the kids. If things had gone a bit differently, I could so easily have ended up having those within the past few years. But I didn’t. And it’s such a relief! 😃 Now I’m old enough to know that no, I really don’t want that, I will never have it, and if I had, knowing myself, things would have been so unspeakably much worse than they are. It’s not all good, though. The career and money situation is a different story. Yeah, I would have taken all that. I really would. I have to say that all in all, 35 feels a lot like the way I thought 30 was supposed to. I breezed past 30. Didn’t bother me one bit. But 35? Yeah, there’s some panic going on. I need to get my shit together, or else. Because I really don’t have it together. And I’m noticing that when you live your life at 35 the way you did when you were 25, the world isn’t cool with it. The rules have changed. “Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita, mi ritrovai per una selva oscura.” Not sure what to do about it, either. Except that I hear that when you’re walking through a dark forest, keep walking. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/14 "2014-07-29T06:47:02Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I turned 70 three weeks ago. Hey, I didn’t know that. Belated happy returns! 🆒 Means you could have been having this angst just exactly 35 years ago. OP, 35 seemed old at the time. Now? Not so much. Just enjoy yourself and hang around with older people all you can. I’m sure most of the congregation at the church I play for think of me as “that nice young man”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/15 "2014-07-29T06:50:34Z")
You know you’re getting old when your parents stop getting you toys for your birthday, and start getting you clothes for your birthday instead. For females, you know you’re getting old when people stop saying _You’re good-looking_ and start saying _You’re looking good._ > [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > I’m sure a few 50- or 60-somethings will look at this OP and get a good chuckle, and I know I’ll be chuckling as well when I’m your age. But right now, this seems too real, and I’m aging faster than I’m accomplishing things. Not necessarily. You think being 35 is the shits? Wait till you’re 50. Then wait till you’re 60. Then wait till you’re 70! Etc. It just gets shittier and shittier. There. Literal thread shitting. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/16 "2014-07-29T07:01:25Z")
It hurt when I turned 30, and when I turned 40, but 35 was just another year in the middle. Didn’t you care about 30? It was important for me because 30 is the cut-off date for the last of some travel-related options. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/17 "2014-07-29T07:12:25Z")
Thirty-Fi-- oh, come on, Agent F.! I’m almost 44 (December). It was hard to not trust my farts as being just air anymore. (Write that down for the 40th birthday, man. Seriously! Post-It on the dashboard! You’ll thank me.) However, you should damn well celebrate! It’s another year of life accomplished, and there’s no bother in weighing it as a good or bad year. You’re still here, you’re good, enjoy it, treat yourself. 🙂 Happy Birthday! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/18 "2014-07-29T09:48:04Z")
I am ten years older than you. It gets worse\*. \*Not a joke ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/19 "2014-07-29T09:58:10Z")
Happy birthday fellow July 29er! If it makes you feel any better I’m the big 6-0 today. Know what? Doesn’t feel any different than 30, or 40, or 50 to me. Now go celebrate ya whippersnapper! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295/20 "2014-07-29T10:04:23Z")
Well, Happy Birthday! I turn 58 this weekend. I’m not too thrilled with that number either, but I think I hated turning 29 even more. That one hit me hard for some reason. I do hope you have a good birthday, in spite of the aging! 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-turning-35-in-a-little-over-an-hour-and-i-dont-like-it-one-bit/694295.md?page=2)