Living is equated with age
The more I talk to those who are younger than I am (by a couple of years), I get the very strong impression they feel like they’re entitled to everything while contributing nothing. They feel like they know it all and those who don’t agree with them are beneath them, at least on an intellectual scale.
When I was their age, I felt like I didn’t deserve anything because I was a still a kid. I was smart, but I wasn’t brilliant (that came later when MENSA contacted me). With time, I became more knowledgeable even though no one still owed me a thing – I had to work for it.
The issue is they think they’ve lived even though they’re still in their early 20’s. They haven’t lived at all. What sort of things could they have gone through at this point? They just got out of high school. As dramatic as high school can be for a teen, they can't even imagine what’s coming their way in the next decade of their life. High school will feel like cake; warm, chocolaty cake with thick, fondant icing.
True, some of them have gone through situations that resemble a Lifetime network MOTW starring a former 80’s television star, but that just means is they’ve had some hard knocks. They haven’t lived because they’re still getting things handed to them on a plate because they’re young. Adults don't respect them, they pity them because they know the shock that's coming.
Living is equated with age. The older they get, the wiser they are. They’re still young, and don’t know much.
And, even though I’ll always be older than them, I’ll always be smarter.
When I was their age, I felt like I didn’t deserve anything because I was a still a kid. I was smart, but I wasn’t brilliant (that came later when MENSA contacted me). With time, I became more knowledgeable even though no one still owed me a thing – I had to work for it.
The issue is they think they’ve lived even though they’re still in their early 20’s. They haven’t lived at all. What sort of things could they have gone through at this point? They just got out of high school. As dramatic as high school can be for a teen, they can't even imagine what’s coming their way in the next decade of their life. High school will feel like cake; warm, chocolaty cake with thick, fondant icing.
True, some of them have gone through situations that resemble a Lifetime network MOTW starring a former 80’s television star, but that just means is they’ve had some hard knocks. They haven’t lived because they’re still getting things handed to them on a plate because they’re young. Adults don't respect them, they pity them because they know the shock that's coming.
Living is equated with age. The older they get, the wiser they are. They’re still young, and don’t know much.
And, even though I’ll always be older than them, I’ll always be smarter.
Authored by S at 12:00 am
4 Comments:
For someone who's only 25, you sound awfully bitter about yung 'uns.
Wait till you hit 39!
Life teaches us that we really have not lived. In my opinion, it is why when we are younger we have less perspective. Tell them to shut up, get naked and jump around. Or at least serve drinks. lol
I'm bitter about anyone younger than me too. But also anyone older than me. Actually, people my age usually suck too. Maybe I'm just bitter.
On one hand, I agree with you that as life unfolds, it brings with it a new set of challenges. At the same time, the older we get, the more we forget that the challenges we faced earlier in life were just as important back then as the challenges we face right now. Indeed, if we hadn't had that set of experiences, we wouldn't be ready to face what's in front of us.
I'm 34 and I can look back and tell you that there's no way in hell that I'd want to go back to high school. I wouldn't go back to my 20s, either. Honestly, they were a bitch and in so many ways, I've gotten more settled into myself as I've gotten older and life is getting MUCH easier. I guess what I've come to learn is that life really doesn't have to be as hard as I used to make it, but back then I didn't have the experience to realize it. In that respect, these younger people know something that I'm still learning.
Wisdom runs both ways -- there's a wisdom that comes from experience and as well as a wisdom that comes from a fresh perspective. All teachers are students and vice versa, sometimes we just forget that the roles always switch back and forth. Bully to the young ones for believing that they deserve the best, because they do. We all do.
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