What makes you feel old or hyper-aware of your age? Asking for a character! [30+ preferred]

[Wolven_Sister]

@Shanny8 You have my respect for being a parent. I have memories of my own parents raising me and I know I was a little hellion. So i have crazy amounts of respect for people who become parents, so i hope my little perspective on something I've experienced in adulthood didn't offend you <33 Idk lol I've been saying since I was in 3rd grade I was never gonna have kids and my hubby and I have been together for nearly 10 years and we have no plans for kids. He doesn't want them either. We're at the point if I accidentally get pregnant we'll keep them, but we're not actively trying to procreate lol :')

[Shanny8]

@Cocas DEF feel you. I've been in that mindset for quite some time.

My energy level was still pretty good in my 30's- it only started to go down in the last 5 years, so this makes working a FT job, making a webcomic, trying to watch TV/go to the movies, exercise, and get sleep very interesting.I'm always too damn tired for something...LOL.

@Wolven_Sister I did it, and now I'm done with it. My mindset is to start back enjoying life for myself(lol)- if my kid needs help or insight I will try to be there for them as much as I can, but that's as far as it goes.

[revisionstudios]

I feel you. I know SO MANY PEOPLE that go through the same thing. I'm very lucky that I haven't been badgered about this much yet, but then again my mom had me when she was 42 and most of my other family have little kids so maybe they don't care if I do or not?

Nox (my MC) doesn't have traditional family connections. He's in a different city, not married (though may have been divorced? Haven't decided if him and another character tied the knot at any point or not) and he's largely excommunicated from his family--willingly I might add. So he's oddly enough been able to avoid prying questions like that for over a decade, though I'm sure we'll get some curious folks at his new job. (I'll have to make a note to add in that conversation somewhere.)

My friend's therapist told her one time that she shouldn't get involved with a man over 30 if he hasn't been married yet because it's a red flag? I balked at that when I heard it, but I wonder if a lot of people hold a similar opinion. I personally would rather see someone that age not married than have gone through like, three marriages. 8/;

[revisionstudios]

This is really useful, thank you! I did want to show him at one point lifting, but being unable to do the same amount he used to. Or when he's in a fight, not being able to dodge as reliably or slowing down a bit. Little things like that which build up and make him more aware of a physical decline.

And he is muscular, so that's good to know. I sometimes worry that maybe I draw his muscles too defined (especially in the ab region) so it's good to know that as long as he keeps his fat under control the muscles would still show through fine.

[Wolven_Sister]

Whhhaaat?? That's a weird thing to hear. I know single men who are over 30 and they're fun to be around?? I wonder why, if a therapist said it there has to be some kind of statistical/sciencey reason behind it right?

Is your comic up btw? I would love to check it out if it is!

[revisionstudios]

Yeah, I really don't know where it came from! She says some questionable things sometimes though so I'm not sure I would take it to heart. I thought that maybe that belief is rooted in the assumption that they can't find a partner and it must be for a reason? Commitment issues, not mature enough for their age, not stable in other ways, etc. And by the time you're in your 30s people expect you to have your life together, I suppose. But for me, that's way too many assumptions to make and I wouldn't put that as a blanket statement on any group of people. People make assumptions all the time though, so it might be worth it to weave opinions like that into the story somewhere.

And yes, I've been posting it for awhile! The link is on my profile if you like! Thanks for the interest <3

[ratique]

As I've grown older, I have accepted the fact that I don't like everybody and that not everybody has to like me.

I feel like my character is still pretty much the same as it was ten years ago, until I meet people of that age range and notice the difference in life experience.

There are some sports where older people have advantages, like in boxing (I specifically remember heavy weights getting better with age). The experience, patience and drive makes them more dangerous than a hot headed 20something.

[thischickdoesart]

So what are some of the things you guys face, physical or mental, as you've grown older? Any points where you've found that you can no longer do something you used to? What was it? How did it make you feel?

Some of these may not be from my own personal experience
- Random gray hairs (coloring hair)
- Can't eat certain foods anymore or in abundance
- Less impulsive (spending, making descisions in general)
- not understanding current popular culture or entertainment
- using older references that certain younger crowds may not get
- gas
- possible dental and vision complications begin to arise
- balking at extreme feats of physicality (even though you can accomplish it you're arguing if it's worth it or if there's a better way around this)
- favoring more natural remedies

I was trying to think of aspects that could be subtle in a sort of, "Ah, my age is showing".

[lynestjules]

I felt really old when almost everybody you know is now married with kids and your friendships are slipping away because you're not in the same stages in life as they are. Not everybody is so lucky in life to have all of those things. But I've accepted the fact that the friendships I held dear for decades will most likely disappear with time and there's nothing I can do about it. Also, finding single friends is hard.
-Making new friends gets more difficult, because in your 30's, apart from work... you don't get to meet people as easily as you did when you were in school.
-You'd rather have an intimate gathering or night in your pj's than going to a party.
-Everything that came out in the 80's or early 90's is confusing to anybody younger. While you're not really understanding what's currently popular.
- You're very aware of what you eat, or else your body might take revenge on you later.
- Vision is not what it used to be.
- Relationship with parents change from 'parent' to 'friend'. I really don't hate that one, I love hanging with my folks when I get to see them.

[jiany0u]

When you get drunk and the next day, instead of a hangover that's just a couple hours at most, you're crippled and bedridden all day

When you notice that all the models in advertisements are younger than you

When you start noticing all the ways society tells you that older women are unattractive and therefore useless

edit just realized your MC is a dude in his late 30s, this is prob all more relevant to a woman in her late 20s lol

[lunaartemisasama]

What makes me feel old?
-When teenagers don't know about 09/11 (I don't live in the U.S).
-When my favourite radio have a 2000's classics (a classic like "I got a feeling" lol).
-When people don't even hesitate to call me Mrs.
-When all your friends are all too busy with work to hang out.
- When people already put you a label of faillure or decent person because of the things you did or didn't (even if they don't say it to your face).

[revisionstudios]

Hey that's okay!! It's still helpful, I have female characters in their late 20s-early 30s. Besides, I think some of it can still be applied to him, like the hangovers and the ads! I imagine he might look at a magazine, think the girl on the cover is pretty, then feel like a creep for finding a younger woman attractive--"Get a grip, you're old enough to be her father," sort of thing. It would make him uncomfortable, conflicted, and kinda sad I think.

As a general note, thank you everyone for your insights so far! Some of them I've thought of, some I haven't, and others I've flat out forgot about. Feel free to keep posting if anything else comes to mind! He's probably gonna have an existential crisis in story as his birthday nears so any material is good.

[NickRowler]

Thing that make me feel "old" (I'm 26 and I have 4 younger siblings, 2 being in high school)...

-Not finding modern memes funny...or they just don't make sense even if someone explains it to you
-When you have to explain Rugrats (or any old franchise) is to a teenager or kid
-When you have have to explain the difference between analog and digital to a teenager (or even someone in their 20s)...or even explaining things like VHS, Betamax, Laserdisc, Floppies, Projector Slides etc.
-When a teen or kid watches something that was cool when you were younger and they tell you it is stupid for being old and cheesy.
-When you find it easier to talk to older people than to younger people
-When you prefer to spend your extra money on getting nicer work clothes instead on stuff like video games

[PopChromatic]

So, today I was swinging at a park and I did that thing where I jumped off while the swing was really high. When I landed, it was like extreme nuclear pain into both of my feet. That made me feel...erm, thirty-something. (Also, the Gs from swinging made me kind of dizzy.)

The major thing that makes me feel old is when I see a teenager doing a thing that I find incredibly annoying, and I can remember doing that thing and thinking I was cool. I guess I would call it perspective. You start to see everything, not as one unique event in your life, but as an event in a long string of related events. "My kid just tried to get away with X. I remember when I tried to get away with X. That means my parents also tried to get away with X, and maybe their parents, too."

[Shanny8]

@PopChromatic actually a variation what you said is when my kid tried to get away with something- and got caught. I did the same thing when I was that age , but was smarter about doing it and got away with it. Lol...

[Kura]

Relating more to squidward instead of spongebob when it used to be the opposite makes me feel old all the time.

[PopChromatic]

Yeah, we catch our kids doing that stuff because we know how to get away with it. My parents weren't paying that much attention. Maybe they were more trustworthy people....

[Knight_Wolf]

the muscles if the does go´s to the gim or not if well most likely i will some how to say Michelin or Goodyear or his front end!

[demthorshie]

When none of the young people near you have heard of any of the 80s and 90s cartoons you used to watch. That personally makes me feel like a grandma sometimes x.x.

[NickRowler]

The one that sort of really gets me is when things that used to be there when you were young are now gone. Like grandparents, older neighbors, or older teachers who died. When your elementary school looks completely different due to the many years of upgrades. When that playground from your youth was torn down and replaced with something bigger and better. And you remember the playground you played on was just cement tubes, some see-saws and a tire swing.