Another year older...
Well, it's 11:38 PM, and in 22 minutes it'll officially be my 24th birthday. One more year of life behind me, and one less ahead of me... and it's an odd feeling. I mean, I haven't felt like I've really aged much since, oh, 20 or 21, but mentally I feel every day of it. And I'm still only somewhere between a third and a fourth of the way through my life journey (optimistically, of course). Has it really been this long? And is there really that much more to go?
And why do I feel old? I mean, I'm 24, for God's sake. It's not like I'm at retirement age or anything... I'm not even a quarter of a century old. Why, then, do I feel so damn old when I see teenagers online and in real life anymore? I read teenagers' live journals and webpages and such, and I have trouble relating. For example, I recently read some posts from a 16-year-old. 16. He was born in 1984, maybe 1985. I remember 1985. Hell, I remember seeing Empire Strikes Back in 1980, when I was three. I was most likely 8 years old when he was born! Sure, I was only a kid, but those 8 years might as well be 80 as far as meeting on the same wavelength goes, considering how quickly pop culture changes and how it's targetted for certain age-groups.
Okay, so it's really not as bad as I may be portraying it; I go to see the same movies and listen to much of the same music as my younger peers, so I've at least got some common frames of reference. But still, trying to cross a time barrier can be just as tough as crossing a language barrier.
*shrugs*
Anyway, enough of me bemoaning my age. I'm going to be 24 in 5 minutes! Happy birthday to me!!
And why do I feel old? I mean, I'm 24, for God's sake. It's not like I'm at retirement age or anything... I'm not even a quarter of a century old. Why, then, do I feel so damn old when I see teenagers online and in real life anymore? I read teenagers' live journals and webpages and such, and I have trouble relating. For example, I recently read some posts from a 16-year-old. 16. He was born in 1984, maybe 1985. I remember 1985. Hell, I remember seeing Empire Strikes Back in 1980, when I was three. I was most likely 8 years old when he was born! Sure, I was only a kid, but those 8 years might as well be 80 as far as meeting on the same wavelength goes, considering how quickly pop culture changes and how it's targetted for certain age-groups.
Okay, so it's really not as bad as I may be portraying it; I go to see the same movies and listen to much of the same music as my younger peers, so I've at least got some common frames of reference. But still, trying to cross a time barrier can be just as tough as crossing a language barrier.
*shrugs*
Anyway, enough of me bemoaning my age. I'm going to be 24 in 5 minutes! Happy birthday to me!!