How Old Do You Really Feel?

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I’m 25 years old, but that barely registers with me. When I was young, 25 year olds were well accomplished. They were married, they had kids, they had houses!

I’ve recently been scrolling through Bumble BFF and you have to set age limits you’re willing to be friends with. When I come across someone who is 22 years old, I think about how they’re the same age as me. I’ve felt 22 for a long time. I know it’s just a 3 year difference, but 22 was when I really started defining myself as an adult. It’s also a time where I’ve never felt more naive and young.

And in reality, those 22 year olds who I could be friends with are most likely at a completely different time in their life as me. They’re fresh out of college and haven’t hit that grandma phase yet like I have. In the same sense, people just a few years older than me are at a completely different phase. They’re married and have kids. 25 is an interesting age because you’re just smack dab in the middle of a time where everyone is in different phases of their life.

It’s hard for me to grasp that I’m halfway to 30 when I don’t feel any different than I did 4 years ago when I graduated college. When I still felt so unsure, I still wanted to dress like I was in college and going to parties, when I had almost nothing figured out. Because I look at my life now and still feel those things. But then I see I have my own apartment, my own dog, a boyfriend who I’ve been with for almost 3 years.

How is this my life and when did I get this old? I know it seems dramatic to some who are older than me, but I’m truly coming to terms with the fact that I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t always go to my mom’s house for Christmas, I have to pay my own bills, I have to figure out what to do on my own when my car breaks down.

I still feel naive and young, but I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not. That I’m more experienced and accomplished than I give myself credit for.

girl in white long sleeve shirt and black skirt sitting on swing during day time
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33 thoughts on “How Old Do You Really Feel?”

  1. I’m 28, I’m married, I have two kids but I still feel like I’m your age. 28 just seems so old to me. I have friends my age but I also have quite a few who are 21 and they’re so mature, I always think, “I was not this mature at 21”. People also think I’m 21 because they say I look it. They’re always shocked to hear that I’m almost 30.

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  2. I’m 23 and I both still feel like a teenager at times and a grandma at other times. I’d rather stay in than go out, and I have lots of grandma moments that make me feel old, and yet, at times I also feel too young and like I don’t know much of the world? lol. I understand where you’re coming from, haha.

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  4. OK, first of all, I could be all you guys’ father! LOL

    I’m 46, and I still go to my parents’ for Christmas.

    I think the part I struggle with is that my brother is 42, because he’ll always be my “little brother.” And for years, I’ve always thought of friends who were close to his age as being older if they were my friends.

    Not to mention that my “in 1996, when I was 5” friend turns 28 this summer!

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  5. This was such a great read! I have always felt like a middle-aged woman. Always! I never thought I fit in growing up – and even now I’m only 23 – but I am married with a baby on the way looking for a house to purchase and I feel like I am finally getting to where I belong.

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    1. Aw that’s great you’re finally feeling comfortable! I can relate in a way, I always felt older than everyone else growing up and never really fit in. I finally felt my age in college and then I got stuck in that mindset

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  6. Wow, I literally have been thinking about this daily!! I’m 25 also, but I am still in college…Imagine that headspace (lol). I’m mentally ready to be 30 and have my own house, career, etc, but I feel stuck in a 20 year old’s body: still trying to get through school, working part time retail, and living paycheck to paycheck. It’s the weirdest feeling!!!

    It’s definitely weird being “old” and having more responsibilities than when we were 20/21/22 right?!

    Thank you for sharing! It’s good to know someone is feeling the same way as I am lol

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  7. I’ve always been an old soul. When I was a teenager, I felt like I was more young adult (20s YA). When I was in my early 20s, I felt like I was at the very least approaching 30. Now I’m on the edge of 27 and feel like I’m on the edge of 27. It’s strange.

    You know how some people growing up picture their lives being a certain way by a certain age?? Married at 23. House by 25. Kids by 26…? I always viewed 26 as my age to have it all: job, husband, house, career, and for the most part I have it all (dogs instead of kids), so I guess I, for the first time in a very long time, feel my age. 🙂

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  8. Reading all the previous comments makes me laugh and happy at the same time. Laugh because I can totally relate to almost everyone, and happy because I always thought I was the only one feeling like a grandma lol! I am 29 years old but I still feel and look younger haha! Although I’m almost 30 and not married and I don’t have kids yet, I really feel that I have a lot to accomplish! On the other hand, I prefer to do grandma things like cook at home, gather with my friends at home instead of going out, take care of plants..etc. It’s just a beautiful mixture of feelings. I feel mature but excited about life at the same time. It’s somehow a pleasant stage of mind, to feel mature, enthusiastic and satisfied about your life all at the same time. My late twenties are, by far, the best years of my life 🙂

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    1. That’s great!! I’m pretty much the same, grandma in the things I like to do but I still feel so young. For me it’s more confusing than anything but maybe in a few years I’ll be a bit more satisfied 🙂

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  9. As they say Rosie, you’re as old as you feel. It’s just a number and another step up life’s ladder. Keep on being naive and immature though, age doesn’t define how you should think or act. We both think we’re still 28!

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  10. Oh my goodness, I resonate with this!!! I turned 25 this year & it’s definitely the first time where I feel like I’m getting older. It’s a strange transition in life for sure. I am not longer a “young adult” or in my “early 20s”… but I hear the 30s are awesome so at least we have a lot to look forward to and a solid five years ahead still of our 20s 🙂

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  11. I thought it was condescending when someone said this to me at 25, but a lot changes from 25 to 30 and older, in my opinion. I felt so lost and was in a depression at 25, but 30 my life was completely different. Not sure if this is helpful is any way. Haha Just sharing my experience. I also know of 21-year-olds who had a child together and have their shit totally together, something I could not imagine at their age. They’re doing amazing. We are all on different journeys, thats for sure.

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  13. I understand 100% I stayed an extra year of high school because I just wasn’t sure where/what I wanted to go to school for. Now most of my friends are graduated and somedays I feel “behind.” But I remind myself everyone’s different, and it could have been worse if I went to school for something I hated!

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  14. I’m almost 28 and it still baffles me I’m basically at 30. I’ve got a kid and most of my friends do too. Ironically most of my mom friends are younger than me, but their kids are older than mine! I still struggle with how to dress, but often find myself in the “mom” style of yoga pants and cardigans haha. I’m friends with a fairly wide range of people. I’ve got friends old enough to technically be my mom and a handful young enough to be my sister. I really felt like by this point in my life I would have my ish together and figured out. But I don’t and that’s partly okay I think. That said I do look at people under 20 and I’m like whoa I’m definitely too old for this nonsense of todays world.

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    1. Hahah it’s crazy how just a few years can make a huge difference in the stage of life! Our 20’s are so weird, everyone is all over the place but I do think most us don’t have our lives figured out

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      1. I’m just taking it one day at a time. Same as parenting I don’t know what I’m doing so I’m just winging it

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  16. Same. I definitely don’t feel 26. I always picture myself as the same age as I was in college or fresh out. Except I don’t have the energy or desire to go out or stay up crazy late.

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