Is age irrelevant?

Do you feel your age? Do you act your age? Do the number of years you spend in this huge world determine the validity of your wisdom?

I can certainly say in the initial years....from 18-21/22 there can be an extreme gap in maturity, wisdom, and overall awareness to ones own needs and desires. As life starts to carry on though, the progression is much more gradual, we still gain wisdom, learn more about ourselves, and genuinely grow as people, but rather than in drastic bursts it is a more natural and steady growth. So in a sense, yes, in the other, no. Each person has lived a different set of experiences and has a different set of reactions to it. Over time however, the ultimate answer will be that age because less and less relevant the older you get.

I don't think so. When you're younger especially, age is an important thing. There's that arbitrary number at 18 where you go from kid to adult in most western cultures. I think for a lot of people, especially when they finish most of their schooling and start hitting their mid to late twenties is when it kind of "hits the wall" when you know what it takes to become a responsible adult. Being in my mid 30's and seeing all these kids who were basically babies or weren't even born yet when I graduated high school and now hitting their teens kind of puts my age into perspective a bit. I remember holding my nephew when he was two weeks old and now know he's going to be 13 in about a month is kind of mind blowing to me. Never being a parent myself though, I can at least sympathize with what people have to go through to raise children and do not want to experience that responsibility myself until I have found someone worth my time and energy and we're both in a good spot to do it even though I'm completely undecided at this stage if I even want to have children of my own.

Pretty much every person I tried to talk to thought I was too old. They may not say it but seem very uninterested when I engage in conversation. I have yet to actually hit on anyone - I just try to converse with them (anyone). Usually everyone responds with a paragraph then the replies get shorter and shorter. Maybe it's just me but I honestly think because of my age most people just try not to talk to me. Not everyone I met on here is like this. About 70% of people that talked to me have done what I said though.

I guess I didn't really answer the question. I think it does matter to people that are willing to judge or condemn you out of the gate.

NO... I guess the magic number to first hit is ... 30 cuz I maybe 30 but I can still pass for my mid-20s If anything ... I am more in shape and eating better than I did in my college days ...

Age provides context and relativity but is not always an accurate measure of a persons development. I know kids that are 18 that have their act together better than some 30-somethings I know. When I was young age was a big deal because I got new things out of it, work, drive, vote, drink. The thing I wanted the most was acknowledgement as an adult and be grown up and listened to instead of dismissed a dumb kid I think. Around 25 is when I think I came into my own and started putting my life into full focus and knew what to do. I started to get jobs with more responsibility and professional respect or so it felt. I was often told I seemed to have an old soul and wise but I always felt like a late bloomer playing catch-up. As a kid I hung out with college aged people a lot as they were interesting and that has not changed much as I prefer a lively crowd. I will be 40 at the end of summer and no one at work believes me when I tell them my age. I think it is largely a state of mind and character.

Inadequacy is the main reason I am frustrated with my age. I understand that coworkers and friends and sometimes even family can't be expected to take me as seriously as I'd like. I have to constantly fight with my pride because people will without fail make their assumptions based on my age or years of experience in something and reminding myself that this is normal is hard. I reach points in my life where I feel I'm learning some life lesson or skill faster than someone else my age or older but vocalizing this will only blow up in my face via one small error. So I keep it to myself most times. It would be a dream though for someone to have unconditional faith in me and who takes the time to look beneath my age for the depth I know is there. And returning the favor to that person would also be wonderful to do. Ah dreams.