My fellow Millennials,
We need to talk. I expect this post to go over about as well as a wet fart at a wake, but here goes.
For the last 5 or so years, I feel like I've been bombarded by memes, posts, and lamentations about how "I hit 29 and my body is falling apart!", "I take 14 pills a day, welcome to mid-30s", "We're so old, it's depressing", "back pain incoming!" and so on.
If you've got chronic health issues and genetic conditions that cause your body to struggle, of course you're exempt from this rant and I hope you feel better!
But the rest of you - what is this incessant urge to 'be old'? It feels like an attempt at humor - but with actual seriousness, too. It's like many of you hit your 30s and decided to embrace some odd boomer-energy that you're over the hill, falling apart, losing usefulness, and that any pain/discomfort is purely age-related and not from maybe still not taking care of the body.
I'm going to turn 31 this year - but I have to say that this commemorative doom-speak about how we're falling apart, constantly in pain, we're 'old' and so on - it sometimes gets to me. Makes me feel like my time to make something of my life/find love and more success is long past, that any day now I'm going to just cease to matter, feel good, etc. That's not a fun Sword of Damocles. I don't want to be surrounded by friends who think our lives are basically over.
Stop acting like 35 is 85. It's not a healthy mindset.
Personally, I don't feel any different than I did at 20! I still have my hobbies, passions, energy, etc. I try to choose to be that way. Mental health is an issue, but also working on that. Actually, I feel a little better physically than I did at 20 since I started working out and eating better. Not saying everyone can be that way, of course.
Guys, I've got Gen Z friends with body pains. But a lot of them have said stuff about how they're hitting 25 and are 'old and their time is up', it makes me feel like we're setting a real poor example of how health, success, doing new things and such isn't something that stops at 25 or 30.
I get some of this speak is humor - but enough of it is serious that it really just makes me sad.
We're not old. You will miss being this age.
Make the most of it, get healthier, and reach new peaks.