The "How do you know when you're getting old?" thread got me thinking about the flip side of getting old is when is it time to grow up? It seems like these days that adolescence is getting longer and that people are delaying things like getting married, settling down, buying a house or even getting a career. For me as I'm approaching 40 the lifestyle of hitting the bars and non-serious dating is starting to wear thin and whether it is time to settle down with someone.
im looking to settle down and get married and having my own house at least by my late 20's..i hope (note: im only 20)
That's good you got a plan. When I was 20 I don't think I gave much thought to my future other than getting through the next term paper, getting to the next party, and getting some tail. That said though don't get too tied down with your plan. A lot of things change in life. For me I almost got married a few years ago but realized I didn't love the person and wasn't at a point that I was ready to settle down. I don't regret that at all but why I'm thinking about it now is that there have been a few things that have happened to me in the past two months that make me think it is time to settle down. I can tell you this that things at 30 will look different than they do at 20 and things at 38 will look different than they do at 30.
One of the funniest things I've ever seen was a 40 year old on the dance floor sweating away with glow sticks.
When you go to a college reunion party to see all the guys you used to get drunk and chase tail with (along with all the girls you used to get drunk and GET tail with), and they're all married with children. Seriously, this happened to me several years ago and it was quite an epiphany for me. I might have even started a thread about it - a sure sign of a major epiphany! Something about all my rowdy friends settling down. After that weekend, I decided to get my **** together, quit pretending I was still in my twenties (hello Fatty...), pay off all my dept, find a CAREER instead of changing jobs every six months, then find a kick-ass wife to grow old and have kids with. So far, I'm done all of that except the kids part. And I'm workin' on that...a LOT.... EDIT: Here's my original thread. Kind of funny to read it now in light of all the changes in my life since then. Also, it's got an ironic post from RMTex, since I think he's met someone and is thinking about "settling down" now. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=70583&page=1&pp=20&highlight=rowdy BTW, there is some chick talking about being bi-sexual in there too...
When the morning alarm clock goes off. (I know, not funny, but it was the first thing that came to my head)
I think it's 100% personal decision. Some people are comfortable growing up early on in their lives, others aren't. I think the only problem is when people have to 'try' to stay young. It's wrong seeing people putting a conscious effort to make themselves appear to have a young life style or whatever. If it's natural, then that's great. It's like Satchel Paige said, "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?" I think there is nothing wrong with people growing up as well. It isn't a bad thing. Of course there are some areas where people can grow up while continuing to be young in other ways.
Why does anybody wanna grow up? stay here in wonderland and eat imaginary food and fly all day. It worked for Jacko, why not you?
Why am I always the poster child for these kinds of threads? I enjoy the hell outta my life, and I hang out with tons of people in my age group. Some of y'all worry and judge way too often. Life is about experiences, and we'll all look back at our lives and ask ourselves if we truly lived. I, for one, will have very few regrets. I don't recall Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra being told to grow up. Do y'all?
I said this right after I graduated from high school. I was like man, it is time to grow up now. Little did I know I had a lot more growing to do. I would say when you are ready to grow up is the time to actually grow up. It is not something you can push or make people do, sort of like getting people off their addictions. I know a woman who is 28 and still lives with her parents and has no plans to move out and get on with her life but plans to live with her parents as long as possible. Sure, we can all say she needs to grow up and get on with her life and we could tell her that but unless she really wants to do it I believe the effort would be to little or no avail.
