Getting Older (Sucks)

When Mimara asked for a third time what was the matter, he decided that he hated the young. Smooth faces and lithe strong limbs. Not to mention the certainty of ignorance. In his soul's eye he saw them doing jigs down blasted halls, while all he could do was hobble after them. Pompous wretches, he thought, with their dark hair and hundred-word vocabularies. Pissants. - The Judging Eye, R. Scott Bakker

Photo Credit: Bacardi, "We Are The Night" Ad Campaign

I used to think I looked young. Ever since I was my early twenties up until ... recently, I have gotten near constant comments about how I could pass for sixteen. I don't know, maybe it's because I was clean-shaven. Maybe the gentler climate of Massachusetts. Maybe my diet (gave up soda in 2008.) Whatever the case, I remained smooth-faced and taut-cheeked and, after the phase when I found it annoying, it actually became a compliment.

Then I came back to Nigeria and started medical school.

As I have said before], I am 34 years old. With one exception (a Reverend Sister curiously enough), every single one of my colleagues is a minimum of 12 years younger than me. It was the first time in a long time I actually spent time with people of an age I so recently remember and yet, am so clearly far past. It was sobering.

And enlightening.

Here's the thing: in the grand scheme of things, most sensible people would say something like "oh 34 is still young. Wait till you're in your 50s. Then you'll really have something to whine about" or more succintly, "STFU n00b!"*

Anyway, Those people are right. They are also full of crap. I say that because yes, we early-thirty-somethings can still do everything we did when we was early-twenty-somethings. It just hurts more when we stop. Wounds heal slower. Knees crackle as one stands. Getting in shape takes longer. Heartburn and back-pain and No need for round 2 become part of your vocabulary :D

Now of course, those people might also say (as you will see if you Google the matter), "oh, I wouldn't trade being 20 for anything. I am so much more confident and certain in myself and no longer care what people think and am secure in my career and blahblahblahblahblah* Okay. Aside from my initial response of "bullshit", there's the fact that yes, they have a point. The compensation for advancing age is generally advancing temporal knowledge, power, resources and experience. More pertinent to my point is that you have had time to gain distance from being 20.

Humans forget, it is our blessing and our curse. We forget the worst parts of the bad times and paint them over with the rosy light of the good. In other words, as a thirty-something, you are in the unhappy medium of being old enough to feel the oncoming decrepitude and yet young enough for the immortal past to still be fresh in memory.

Hurts, doesn't it. LOL

Not all bad though; that experience thing, is kind of true. You start to see just how open and obvious kids are. Their facial expressions, their body language, even when they think they're being subtle; it's hilarious. Like kittens forgetting to hide their tails when they crawl under the couch. And the ignorance! While a virtue in that they don't know what's impossible for them yet so they can strive for anything, it's incredible how they genuinely don't know what one assumes are the most self-evident things.

I suppose there are worse outcomes and the future does remain bright. Steem On.

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Anyway! 30-somethings of all ages in the audience, your thoughts? Opinions? Stories? 20-somethings, whachu got? 40-somethings and up all the way to a hundred, feel free to lend your wisdom as well. Upvote, resteem or just comment, all (of the above) are welcome.

PS

Do people still say n00b? Or STFU? Kinda proves my point *