# When do you start to feel "old"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 2, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248 "2003-02-02T05:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/41 "2003-02-03T10:41:18Z")
Mine would be the birthday when I woke up and realised that I was now outside the age range within which I could realistically expect to land the job I want, and that my past injuries pretty much made me unfit to play football from there on out. That was Saturday morning. I’m now 28. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/42 "2003-02-03T11:51:46Z")
I’ll be 25 this year…laugh all you like b/c I know that isn’t old at all…but I swear it still feels funky. I thought I’d be somebody else by now. Somebody cool and collected and mature and stylish and well-equipped with money and education. Turns out it’s just me. Not nearly as far along as I’d like to be, goal-wise, and still zipping through my twenties at the speed of light. I’m a bartender, so I don’t work with a particularly mature or educated staff, but I still think it’s weird that I’m older than half of my coworkers. The new waitresses bounce up to service bar and say, “Ooh, what are you making? I can’t wait to be old enough to drink it!” And then the people whom I ID at the bar, who were born in 1982, don’t look a day over twelve. I find it appalling that I have to serve them. And I can sell cigarettes to people born in 1985! It’s just going to get worse. I can feel it. ---
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/43 "2003-02-03T12:58:26Z")
One day, you start to feel old. You think to youself, “Oh, this is what it feels like to feel old.” A year later you start to feel older. You think to yourself, “Oh, this is really what if feels like to be old.” Repeat annually until… One day, you realize you’ve been feeling old for a while, and it’s never going to get any better. So now you don’t give a damn anymore. And you feel better. End of story. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/44 "2003-02-03T12:59:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > \*\*I’m 37. I started to feel old around 35. Why? > > \ > > If I heard a song on some “Edge” or “Extreme Rock” station, I couldn’t tell if it was Creed, Korn, Limp Bizkit, or some other popular alternative band. \*\* This is not a sign of getting old, Elmwood - all those bands _really do_ sound exactly the same. Me, I don’t know what “feeling old” is supposed to feel like. I’ve been continually exhausted since I had major surgery when I was 17, but that’s not the same at all, is it? ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/45 "2003-02-03T13:29:07Z")
I am 35 very shortly and I first felt old when Martin Kemp appeared in Eastenders. One of the kiddiwinks in our office was about 19 and had never heard of in Spandau Ballet. I realised I was off snogging to Tony Hadley and the boys before she was born. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/46 "2003-02-03T14:05:56Z")
You know, what really gets me is folks around my age (50) who look at young(er) people and the way they dress and the music they listen do and make disparaging remarks about both. Hello??? Do you NOT remember the 60’s??? When everybody dissed our music and the long hair on the guys and everything??? YOU’RE TURNING INTO YOUR PARENTS – THE ONES THAT DROVE YOU NUTS WHEN YOU WERE A KID!!! I just look at the clothes and stuff and smile reminiscently. (I will NOT, however, indulge in some of the retro fashion that comes by. I wore mini-skirts when they came around the first time. I don’t NEED to wear them now. Ditto bell-bottom jeans.) (And yes, my legs ARE still good enough to wear mini-skirts if I wanted to, thank you very much.) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Magic8ball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Miss\_Magic8ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Magic8ball)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/47 "2003-02-03T14:13:57Z")
I started feeling old the day I went to high school. ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/48 "2003-02-03T15:17:26Z")
For me it was two things, really. The first was when, at about 20, I went from being addressed as “Hey, man,” to being addressed as “Excuse me, sir,” by teenagers looking to get the time/bum a smoke/hit me up for “bus fare”, whatever. The second one is when cops started to scare me for a different reason. It used to be the standard one, that they are the visible symbol of the authority and majesty of the law, and could throw my ass in jail for whatever I was doing illegally that day. Now, it’s more like “Oh my God, how can they give a gun to somebody that young and let him out on the street by himself?”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/49 "2003-02-03T15:20:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kniz \* > \*\*At sixty-four I don’t think of things like I’m really 32 inside, because to tell the truth I’ve been there and I don’t want to be 32 again or 48 for that matter. The main thing that bothers me is that I used to go years without seeing a doctor. Now it is a regular thing, because either I go see him or he doesn’t renew my prescriptions. The thing that makes me feel old has been mentioned. Here’s my favorite line that says it best. > > [ul]\*\*“You mean Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?” \*\*[/ul] \*\* Ohhhh, it’s MUCH worse than that. Paul McCartney himself says he runs into kids all the time who don’t even remember WINGS!!! ---
**Author:** ![Girlbysea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Girlbysea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlbysea)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/50 "2003-02-03T15:33:38Z")
Being around Mom and Dad sometimes makes us feel like kids again, but for the last four years I’ve had to be the caregiver to mine. Now I’m the parent and they’re my kids. I don’t have time to think of growing old, but I do feel myself walking the same path as my parents did many years ago. I guess I’m just thankful that I’m able to care for them. At the age of 47 I’m a widow, a caregiver and mother to a wonderful daughter. I guess you could say I’m lucky. I have a aging heart, full of love… ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/51 "2003-02-03T15:36:23Z")
I felt old a couple of months ago, when my friend Mike and I were in his car going downtown, and the conversation turned to RRSPs and retirement plans and health and the kids and the grandkids (his by a second marriage, not mine). This caused me to redouble my exercise program, and now I feel much younger and more alert. I have always been clueless when it comes to styles, trends, and fads, so that’s not any different now. I never was a drinker, a smoker, or a clubber (though I enjoy the music), so that’s not any different either. What _did_make me feel old was being unfit, sluggish apathetic and lethargic. The exercise program has literally saved my sanity and made me feel worlds younger. I’ve found that I can use the exercise to fight depression and apathy. My conclusion: you only feel old if you stop growing, in whatever way, and give up. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/52 "2003-02-03T15:38:29Z")
Oh, and I turn 40 (ack!) in August. ---
**Author:** ![PumiceT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@PumiceT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PumiceT)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/53 "2003-02-03T16:23:07Z")
People usually think I’m 23-24 when they don’t know my age. [Me.](http://rsx.pumicet.com/pics/) I drive a souped-up Honda. Well, it’s an [Acura RSX](http://rsx.pumicet.com/rsx/), but they’re the same company. I hang out with 17-25 yr. olds, and the occasional person my age. People close to my age tend to depress me. I don’t have the same concerns as they do. I’m not married, I’m not having kids (yet). I dress like the “kids,” sorta… T-shirts, jeans… I have the same jewelry and hairstyles as most 18-20 yr olds. I do have some greys on my temples, but they’re not very noticeable, especially when I have my hair highlighted. I do the same things I’ve always done since “adulthood.” I go out to eat, oftentimes late at night. I rarely go to bed before 2am, and I don’t have any major aches and pains. I should do something about my weight, and I should work out (I never did). I have never drank, so barhopping was never a “thing” for me to do. I’m 29. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaxagoras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b77776/32.png) [@Anaxagoras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaxagoras)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/54 "2003-02-03T19:56:05Z")
I’m male and I’m calendar-deficient. (Bear with me.) This means that I am frequently unsure how old I am. (It’s like being dyslexic, only funnier.) My wife’s birthday is in May and my birthday is in September. Anyway, year before last my wife turned 37 in May, so when my birthday rolled around in September I thought I turned 38. (We’ve always been “the same age” in my mind.) And since I’m male, I can expect to live until 76, and 38 is half of 76, and, well, long story short, I got incredibly bummed out because half my life was over … except I had calculated my age wrong. My wife still tells the story of how I moped around all day until she got me to tell her what was wrong. And so I got my first mid-life crisis out of the way ahead of time … when I actually turned 38 (four months ago) it was no big deal. On the other hand, I started losing my hair at 25. I knew it was getting thin on top, but I had no idea until we were in a store with a video camera and monitor set up. I looked up at the monitor and saw this guy with this huge bald patch walking by. I thought, hey, look at the bald guy! And then I noticed he was walking at exactly the same speed I was, and there was no one else around … I complained to my wife – finance at the time – why didn’t you tell me I was going bald? And she said, I didn’t think you’d want to know! So I grew my beard out to compensate and I felt better about my looks … until the sides of my beard turned white a couple of years ago. I recently shaved off everything except the goatee and I look 38 again, instead of 50. What’s left of my hair hasn’t gone gray yet … Fortunately, I was blessed with near-perfect health, so I still _feel_ about 25. Of course, part of that is that I gave up drugs and alcohol when I _was_ 25. And I recently gave up caffeine … which made me feel like I was 76 for a week or two, but has since made me feel much, much better. I _do_ feel old sometimes when I look at our parents. My mother and my wife’s mother both failed to make any plans for retirement, so we have to pitch in to make ends meet. Mind you, these are the two women who, when I was 25, told me that I was an irresponsible kid who would never amount to anything. (But I’m not bitter :rolleyes) After my father died and my wife’s mother got divorced, my wife had to give both women the lecture about using condoms. Both women said, and I quote, “But I don’t have to worry about getting pregnant anymore!” :eek: We are child-free – our choice – somewhere along the way, somehow, we have become parents _to_ our parents. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/55 "2003-02-03T21:56:50Z")
When really pretty women in their 30’s start calling you “sir.” Which sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/56 "2003-02-03T22:17:48Z")
Hey… at least they’re still calling _you_… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/57 "2003-02-03T22:57:37Z")
When things start to fall apart and surgery becomes an annual occurance. My warranty was up at 40. Since then I’ve had 2 vertabrae fused, a new esophogial sphincter built, a hysterectomy, a rebuilt knee and 2 carpal tunnel surgeries. I got zipper lines around my mouth, weird saggy thingies at my jawline and I have to wear drugstore reading glasses and a leash around my neck for them(at least I enjoy making clever leashes for them). I have arthritis in my knees and hips, and every day begins and ends with an arsenal of pills. But I first began to feel it at 36, when I had to start checking _this_ box: **Age 36-50 Š** And in a few months, I won’t even be able to check _that_ friggin’ box any more… goddam kids these days! ---
**Author:** ![consolid8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@consolid8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/consolid8)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/58 "2003-02-04T04:28:59Z")
In 1982 I graduated from college and got married. I was getting old. In 1994 I saw HS kids with letter jackets that had ‘96’ on the sleeve and realized I graduated High School the year they were born. I was Old. In 2000 I turned 40. OLD. Two years ago I got pulled over. I was in the right, the state cop was wrong. I let him know he was wrong, firmly and clearly. I told him we’d let a judge decide if that’s what he wanted - go ahead and write the ticket. He apologized and let me go. I AM OLD. It has also became clear I can no longer go on high-speed spinning carnival rides anymore. And last year, at 42, I could no longer keep up with my kids on the trampoline. But you know what? I still _think_ I’m about 25. The signs are there but I don’t see an older guy in the mirror. Old doesn’t seem to be an age so much as a state. I don’t guess I’m ready to go there yet. ---
**Author:** ![Dunmurry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dunmurry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunmurry)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2003, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/59 "2003-02-04T10:29:16Z")
When I was about 12, I felt old because I was tired. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248/60 "2003-02-04T14:26:56Z")
**Sunspace:** I didn’t mind so much getting sirred by a high school student, because I figured I was old enough to be the kid’s father. Didn’t even mind getting sirred by somebody in her 20’s, because I figured I was old enough to be one of her college teachers. I got sirred by a _supervisor_ the other day. Bleagh. **singular1:** As the old saying goes, after 40, it’s patch, patch, patch… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-start-to-feel-old/152248.md?page=4)