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I'm 48, and here's the deal. Past a certain point, you don't actually feel any older, mentally. My mom's 80, and she still acts like she always did (maybe a little more cranky), and doesn't think of herself as 80, mentally. About 20 years ago, a guy of 50 was telling me about his life, and he said that he still felt exactly the same way he did when he was 18. There's really a lot of that going around. The bod gets fatter and creakier, but the mind still thinks it's 20-something. If you were to ask me how old I was and told me not to think before I answered, I would say "26." That's how old I feel.
That said, things can get better as you get older, providing you're somewhat self-aware. My teens were hell, my 20s were clueless, my 30s were not bad, and now in my 40s I actually feel like I have a handle on life -- what I really want vs. what people expect of me, an image of myself that is not dependent on the opinions of others, plus of course a partner, house, and other goodies. And also a waistline that's six inches larger than it used to be, but there you go.
I've recently returned to university, to a master's in education program full of young student teachers. And I have to say, from my perspective, there isn't that much difference between 18 and 21 -- or in some cases, 25. I know when you're down in that age bracket, the differences seem greater. But from this perspective, the difference is like being either on level 2 or level 4 of a 40-level game. The guy on level 4 is twice as high as the level 2 guy -- but in perspective of how far there is go, the difference is minimal.
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