Nate
Ah, the moment when you realize you’re old. It sneaks up on you like a grandkid stealing your favorite chair. One day, you’re listening to your “cool” playlist and the next, you’re trying to Shazam a song playing at a bar surrounded by people half your age. But hey, being old isn’t all bad – at least you can now complain about your back pain with pride and use it as an excuse to avoid helping your friends move. The moment I realized I’m getting old is when I related to all of these stories.
1.
“When I bent over to pick up a coffee filter and threw my back out so badly I was in traction for three days. It wasn’t even full of coffee grounds; it was empty and light as a feather. Getting old blows.”
— myglasseyehurts
2.
“I’m only 24, but I realize how far away from my childhood I am when I remember the radio saying ”80s, ’90s, and today,’ and we’re currently past all of the ’10s and into the ’20s now.”
— nathanvh
3.
“When I had to start having my hairstylist cover up my grays.”
— amyreinhart92
4.
“When I sent my best friend a list of hacks for saving money at Costco. We used to make fun of bargain hunters and coupon clippers. Now we do that and help each other out.”
— lisathome
5.
“When I got a little sick and, rather than getting better quickly, it lingered forever and led to several other problems popping up. My body just does not deal with things like it used to. The weird thing is that it seemed to change drastically right after I turned 30.”
— banana_bebop
6.
“When I realized that I hate parties and would much rather be at home on my couch with my own drinks and food and Netflix. I’m only 24 and get made fun of for this. I have my extroverted side and introverted side. If I do go out, I am usually just with my group of friends. If they want to go to parties, I will end up calling it a night.”
— gabbym1
7.
“When the seventh graders I taught started showing up to school with the same fashion choices I made in middle/high school. I’m 35.”
— amandaburchins
8.
“When I started online dating after my divorce. I was 43. All the men in my age group looked like my dad, or his friends. Even those in their late 30s looked older. Then it hit me.”
— adholakia78
9.
“I found out the kid my mom babysat since he was born was graduating high school. Like, I used to wipe your butt, and now you’re a full-grown person taller than me!”
— monikap6
10.
“I’m literally in my 20s and find myself looking up slang all the time.”
— here_for_the_comments
11.
“I was listening to the young people’s music radio station, and they have little segments called ‘Throwbacks’ to the station’s ‘classic’ songs. They then played ‘Call Me Maybe,’ the most popular song of my senior year of high school. I’m 28. I guess, to be fair, the radio station began circa 2010 when it replaced the hard rock/metal station. I listened and had a hell of a surprise going from Godsmack one day to Kesha the next day. But still, being called a pop music classic from 2012 instead of anything from, like, TLC or early Britney hit hard.”
— shirayuridenu_kun
12.
“When all the doctors/dentists/vets I deal with in life all started being younger than me. Some of them are literally half my age.”
— keetawnandon
13.
“When liquor stores stopped carding me. When people started calling me ‘sir.’ When the music I listened to in high school is now called ‘classics.’ When my doctor said I’m healthy for someone ‘my age.’ I could go on and on, lol.”
— aditson
14.
“When I told a college student to sign a form, and they printed their name. They had no idea what cursive was.”
— victoriacatherinesl
15.
“I’m a school speech-language pathologist. One day, while I was working with a third grader, we were talking about colors. I asked her if she could think of some things that were gray, and she pondered for a moment, looked at me, and excitedly exclaimed, ‘Your hair!!’ I’m in my early 30s and do have some grays, but my hair still looks 90% black. Welp, I guess it’s time to sign up for AARP. 👨🏻🦳”
— jperezmurillo
16.
“I’m a teacher. I can no longer easily pick up new technology in classrooms, and students get frustrated with me getting it wrong. Y’know, like we used to.”
— canunotmywaywardson
17.
“When my partner told me his favorite song in high school was ‘All the Small Things’ by Blink-182…and I had already finished university when it came out. That made me feel really old… ”
— bagpussaa
18.
“I lost the charger for my wireless earbuds. My son-in-law asked me what kind of earbuds I had. I said, ‘Well, they’re black…’ My daughter said she never thought of me as old until that moment.”
— molly0903
19.
“I was at a Slipknot concert and annoyed at having to sit; the next concert, I was not seated and suffered for days. The next gig I went to, I purposely got seated tickets and realized I was old.”
— kellyd905
20.
“When the newest bartender at my local metal pub told me his age, and I realized I could be his mother.”
— ghulgh
21.
“All of the Disney Channel stars I grew up watching in the early ’00s to the ’10s are all now in their 30s, and I am 26.”
— midwestgirl97
22.
“Being excited about new things for my apartment — appliances, furniture, etc.”
— panda_13
23.
“My sons, who are 10 and 12, passed by what has to be the last payphone in New York state when we were on vacation in the Adirondacks last year. They picked up the receiver and asked me what the noise coming from the phone was — it was the dial tone. My children had never heard a dial tone before because they’ve never had occasion to use a landline telephone.”
— cgallaghernovember
24.
“After the MRI on my lower back, lol.”
— melllvar
25.
“When my son asked me who Madonna is.”
— trishateferw
26.
“Watching Bridgerton, and I related more to Lady Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury than I did to the main cast.”
— eds99
27.
“Finding out I’m officially older than the contestants on Love Island. I’m only 27 and don’t even watch it, and it still bothers me.”
— hobbitgirl96
28.
“I work in a job at a university which requires me to hire the college students to work for the program I’m with. The first time I truly felt old was when I hired someone that was born the year I graduated high school! I thought they made a mistake… They did not.😆”
— jamiesmits14
29.
“When I (26-year-old female) realized people my age are old enough to be doctors.”
— catmommy2018
30.
“I once was giving a presentation to a group of high-school- aged students about human trafficking prevention. Midway through, I said, ‘It’s not like the movie Taken with Liam Neeson.’… crickets; the kids were all deer in headlights. So then, perplexed, I was like, ‘Guys, come on! Liam Neeson??? “I’ve got a particular set of skills… “‘ NOTHING! Then internally I was like, ‘Oh no…it’s happening…I’m like the parent “trying to relate” to their kid, but the kid has no clue what they’re talking about.’ And that’s when I knew…I’m old AF. 🫠”
— amacruz143