I'll be 21 in May, and I feel so old already. I know there are lots of older people here who will tell me I'm super young, I however do not feel that way. I suppose age is relative to the circumstances. To someone who is 15, 21 might seem super old. To someone who is 30, 21 might seem really young. Also, I supposed 21 is a young age to die? It doesn't really feel like to me. Like, to me someone who is young is when your age is universally viewed as youthful. 15 or 17 is viewed as young to most ages. Really, I think dying at 17 would have been best for me. Especially considering I could own a gun for sure back then. Does anyone else feel this way?
Part of the issue may be our youth-obsessed society, assuming you live in the USA. Tremendous emphasis is placed on adolescence and young adulthood. Yet, young adults don't acquire equal political representation in the USA until they are 35. We don't receive federal protection from ageist practices until 40. Fortunately, feeling "old" is independent of functional capacity and scientific data. Utilizing "old" in this manner also implies that "old" is "bad," and with ageism being a severe issue, it is best to decouple that meaning to achieve equality. Do note that age and aging are distinctly separate.
21 is not a young age to die. Humans routinely die at all ages. The causes of death tend to differ by grouping, with the three primary causes of death for everyone approximately 35 and under being unintentional accidents, suicide, and homicide.
Yes, I would have liked to die ages ago. And I value youth immensely. I want nothing to do with old or middle age, it's a curse. If I'm still here by 30, I'll be ashamed of myself.
Hopefully, you will feel ashamed because you did not follow through with a plan instead of an incorrect notion about age and the aging process. I also plan not to survive into middle age, but I intend to complete my Ph. D.s before then. If I hadn't been born with a chronic illness, perhaps I would succeed in becoming an astronaut. Either way, I want off this damn planet. I'm saddened and disgusted by the hate and willingness to discriminate. Seeing ageism in action terrifies me further. It is often unrecognized and promoted as just or righteous. The existence of it on this website without repercussions was shocking and may result in my exit from the forum.
I feel old and like I have existed for far too long and I'm 22. I find it so horrific the thought of ageing and being here for potentially many more decades, I cannot and don't want to imagine it. I really should have left a while ago, I hate the fact how I have managed to stay here for this long.
But it really is annoying to me when much older people see this age as being young, no I've been here for way too many years and 22 years is way more than enough, I'm so tired of it all. The most ideal thing would have been to have never existed at all, in my case it certainly would have been for the best if I left this world as soon as possible.
22 is part of the developmental stage of humans, so objectively, young is likely an apt word. Are you familiar with antinatalism? I regularly see thoughts reminiscent of it and other similar philosophies on this platform.
