Despite access to thousands of people’s life experiences, we tend to not really understand something until it happens to us. There is really no proper substitute for just living through something, but the magic of the internet allows us to at least try.
Someone asked “What’s a truth about aging that no one prepared you for?” and netizens shared the surprising examples. So get comfortable as you read through, upvote your favorite stories and be sure to share your own experiences, ideas and thoughts in the comments section below.
Someone asked “What’s a truth about aging that no one prepared you for?” and netizens shared the surprising examples. So get comfortable as you read through, upvote your favorite stories and be sure to share your own experiences, ideas and thoughts in the comments section below.
#1
I’m 61 and sometimes I feel like this world is not for me anymore. I feel almost like an imposter. For example, I can’t find clothes I like that fit correctly, tv is abhorrent, only old music sounds pleasant, shoes are uncomfortable, I don’t recognize most celebrities or famous people in the news or tabloids, and I don’t understand the need for most new and supposedly exciting products.
I’m an educated person, I still work and have an active life. I’m not a recluse. But a little at a time, I feel the world is moving on without me. I finally understand why, in her final years, my mother only watched movies from the 1950s and reminisced about the past more than she talked about the present. Her world was long gone.
I’m an educated person, I still work and have an active life. I’m not a recluse. But a little at a time, I feel the world is moving on without me. I finally understand why, in her final years, my mother only watched movies from the 1950s and reminisced about the past more than she talked about the present. Her world was long gone.
136points
#2
The world becomes more beautiful and people become less necessary.
100points
#3
How much I don’t give a f**k anymore! In a good way.
87points
#4
Your body really does just start hurting out of nowhere.
86points
#5
You will realize that you hate planning meals and making food every single day. It's boring and to easy to fall into monotony. But you have to make lunch again and then plan for dinner again then make dinner again and what do you want to eat tomorrow so you plan for breakfast tomorrow and get up and make breakfast again and then plan for lunch again.....
I am so tired of planning and making food.
I am so tired of planning and making food.
84points
#6
Just how horrid menopause is and how little the medical community cares about how much you're suffering.
81points
#7
How your mind stays young while your body starts to slow down. You still feel like the same person you’ve always been but suddenly you notice little things changing.
Kremidas:
When I turned 40 I was asked by a younger person what that felt like. I told them I just feel like a 27 year old who has been hanging around and doing stuff for 13 years.
Kremidas:
When I turned 40 I was asked by a younger person what that felt like. I told them I just feel like a 27 year old who has been hanging around and doing stuff for 13 years.
74points
#8
Your friends start to die. It's something I never thought about.
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68points
#9
Doors start closing once you reach a certain age.
Frozboz:
Ageism is real. I just turned 50 and am in a young person's career (software development). I feel how hiring managers look at me when asked to turn my camera on, during an interview that was going very well and suddenly it's "we'll get back to you".
Frozboz:
Ageism is real. I just turned 50 and am in a young person's career (software development). I feel how hiring managers look at me when asked to turn my camera on, during an interview that was going very well and suddenly it's "we'll get back to you".
67points
#10
Time f*****g flies.
nor_cal_woolgrower:
The days are long but the years fly by.
nor_cal_woolgrower:
The days are long but the years fly by.
65points
#11
How much time you wasted in your life trying to make others like you.
59points
#12
Time for the hard truth.
One day, and yes it will happen to you, you will see a box... and you won't just throw it away because IT'S A REALLY USEFUL BOX.
One day, and yes it will happen to you, you will see a box... and you won't just throw it away because IT'S A REALLY USEFUL BOX.
59points
#13
Adults aren't real. At least not in the way they're viewed when you're a kid.
When you're a kid you can't wait to "grow up" and then you do and you're still you, just older. That voice inside your head doesn't change, but what you see in the mirror does. Only now you're just older and saddled with bills and stress and all of life's "surprises".
On top of this, everyone is winging it. Absolutely everyone. Because the idea of order and a civilized society is an illusion. We're all playing by made up rules and making imaginary money and all the rest of it. A one dollar bill costs just as much to print as a hundred dollar bill. Hell, ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR BILLS used to be a thing (not in circulation, but they still represented their face value). Same principle applies.
In short, everyone is just doing whatever until we die.
When you're a kid you can't wait to "grow up" and then you do and you're still you, just older. That voice inside your head doesn't change, but what you see in the mirror does. Only now you're just older and saddled with bills and stress and all of life's "surprises".
On top of this, everyone is winging it. Absolutely everyone. Because the idea of order and a civilized society is an illusion. We're all playing by made up rules and making imaginary money and all the rest of it. A one dollar bill costs just as much to print as a hundred dollar bill. Hell, ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR BILLS used to be a thing (not in circulation, but they still represented their face value). Same principle applies.
In short, everyone is just doing whatever until we die.
59points
#14
I'd just turned 40 and wasn't happy about it when I happened to talk to a couple in their 80s. Oh 40 they said, eyes misting up. What I wouldn't give to be 40 again. Made me feel better and now that I'm 60 I'm beginning to see their point of view.
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57points
#15
You start to realize the older you get that the end is closer than the beginning and you still feel like you have so much more to do.
55points
#16
It’s really lonely being an adult. I mean you have friends and co workers etc but it’s just incredibly lonely because you only ever have surface level conversations with most people.
54points
#17
The fatigue.
Resistant-Insomnia:
I haven't felt rested in over ten years. Always tired. The moment I open my eyes I'm exhausted.
Resistant-Insomnia:
I haven't felt rested in over ten years. Always tired. The moment I open my eyes I'm exhausted.
54points
#18
How much it hurts to fall.
I fell off the roof of a house as a kid and just got up and walked away.
Now I'm careful when stepping off of a tall curb...
I fell off the roof of a house as a kid and just got up and walked away.
Now I'm careful when stepping off of a tall curb...
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53points
#19
Hair grows where you don't want it and falls out where you wanted it.
53points
#20
Things that seemed so important when you were younger, really are not important.
52points