27 and never felt better | Hacker News Reader

27 and never felt better

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36 pointsinv50 comments

Late 20s is not "getting older" by any stretch of the imagination. In the West, it's (though this varies by social circle and class) roughly where you start to count as an adult, perhaps akin to what 19-20 would've been in a previous era.

The social aspect also depends on a lot of things, like coworkers and living arrangements. Some people aged 30 have almost exactly college-style lifestyles: live in a group house, party daily, go into the office at 10 or 11am. I think one reason the view that it's hard to meet people post-college became common is that those kinds of lifestyles were not really seen, outside of some hippies and beatniks, until recently.

Keep paying attention. It doesn't stop getting better.

I can honestly say that every year since age 19 has been better than the previous one. 27-year-old me thought things were great. 30-year-old me would have laughed at him because clearly now things were truly going well. Then 33-year-old Jason with his laptop on the beach knew better than that. But he didn't know it all.

Things keep changing, but as you get older you have more control over where your life is headed. As long as you're always steering towards where you want to be, you'll find that things just keep getting better and better.

Enjoy the ride!

Nice 1! :)

I'm 30 and partying until 10am or having only a few hours sleep leaves me incapacitated for a few days. I'm healthy, have an athletic build, get exercise, etc. I just can't do without sleep anymore.

While my income has greatly increased in the last half a decade or so, so have my financial and human responsibilities.

I've been very surprised by this. I'm 37 and feel like I did at 27, but if I work through the night, like I used to do all the time, I am off-kilter for three-four days after. At the same time I cannot sleep past 10 am anymore, when I used to sleep in until 12 or one, given the option. Shit's weird.

Thirty-two checking in here, and yup, used to be able to knock back enough booze to kill a rhino when I was 27 and wake up feeling fresh as a daisy. I can drink even more now, but I pay for it by being dead the next day, no matter how much water or Gatorade I drink to help compensate.

Well, Im 41 today, and I genuinely wish I had never been born. I don't understand or feel part my own species, or understand the world I exist in. Im simply waiting to die off.

I'm 41 and life is not peachy for me now either, my friend. I bet if we took a look at each other's lives we wouldn't mind trading for a bit. Make a change, if you can. Some of us don't have that luxury.

My sympathies dude. I prescribe more of what you like and less of what you hate, if that's possible. I'm 41 too, and that's what works for me. That and trying not to think about it

I find that trying not to think about something increases rather than decreases stress about that area. Only by thinking and thinking about it head on can I eventually come to peace with it. Otherwise I try to go into escapism and end up just feeling more crappy and tire to boot.

turning 40 sooner or later as well, for me a wakeup call did change a lot. changed job, workout again, walking whenever i can, avoiding sugar, being realistic about death, losing fears, etc.. sometimes i wonder, though, where the last ten years went...

so, good luck everyone.

This 'wondering where the time went' is the worst

A year from now, you wish you had started today. -Karen Lamb

Don't let this be true next year again bro.

I turn 42 in about a week and things are generally pretty awesome except for the occasional reminders that I'm out of warranty.

"I can party until 10am and drink all night without getting a hangover (I would puke all the time when I was younger).

I can function perfectly after having slept for just a few hours."

I'm 27 too but don't think this is reflective of most people our age. I don't get hungover often but my friends complain about it quite frequently. And I simply don't function without enough sleep so no partying till 10am, I can survive on 6 hours of sleep but prefer 8 for optimal effectiveness.

Yeah I felt the same at 27. But then... you don't hit 30, 30 hits you. I'm not kidding.

The fall I turned 30, I ran in three marathons and one slightly longer run. (Nothing elite, but the times were respectable for a recreational runner--three or four times that would qualify me for Boston now, and one that did then.) That I ran only two more marathons after had more to do with increased responsibilities than any immediate falling off in strength or health.

As for the OP, I applaud the author's attitude, even if I smile a bit at his surprise.

At a skosh over 27 * 2, I will leave you with Byron's words in a letter to Tom Moore: "Damn your nel mezzo camin--'the prime of one's life' is a much consoling expression."

I have a friend who's two years older than me. We were roommates in college and I remember him telling me about how your body starts falling apart once you hit 20.

Then "once you hit the real world and have to get a real job that college metabolism of yours will shut down and you'll pack on the pounds like everybody else."

Then "just wait 'til you're 25 like me and your hair starts falling out".

Then "When 30 hits and you don't have any energy anymore then you'll understand"

... And so forth. But thus far none of it has ever happened. I think that people let themselves fall apart, then notice the date and assume that must be the reason. But if you don't wan't to have that happen, you can make a point of staying in good shape for a long time.

That said, I'm sure there's some new inevitable milestone waiting for me when I hit 44. It's definitely going to suck.

Though when it comes to the hair falling out it might not be something that you can do anything about.

I'll be 40 next year and I'm in better shape than ever; I'm as slim as when I was 16 but I can lift 3x as much weight. I'm sure that my hair will start turning grey and falling off any decade now, but so far I have no age-related complaints.

Yep, it's all about your attitude, what you put into your body and your physical activity.

Some people die at 44, some people are at their prime.

I am 27. I feel older though. I have two kids. Stable family. Don't party much. I think I am bit boring but in a good way. My favorite thing is my family.

I don't get people who are scared of hitting 30. Perhaps it is more for people who haven't settled down yet. The clock is ticking. For me I am not bothered.

> I can party until 10am and drink all night without getting a hangover (I would puke all the time when I was younger).

One of the few things that makes me sad. When I was young I consumed an epic amount of alcohol. Never got hungover. Woke up drunk a few times but it was fine.

Now alcohol makes me sleepy. 2 ciders gives me a headache. I rarely get past gentle buzz because I fear the consequences. I never drink after 8pm because I get the worst hangovers from fairly minor alcohol consumption.

If anything I am looking forward to 43. My kids will be 18. I can semi-retire from parenting and go traveling. I think I am one of the few people looking forward to my big 4-0.

27 with kids! 2x! Man...

I remember my father making fun of my uncle, his younger ~30y old brother, when we were at his wedding: "Man! When I was your age, my son already had 5 years, and my daughter already celebrated its first birth-day!" :-)

I think having a family is very cool and I'm looking forward to that! As for being more tired - try physical activity (running, gym, whatever), for me it does miracles.

Semi-retiring from parenting won't happen until those kiddos are 30. Just a heads up. ;)

You can go traveling well before hitting 43 with the children. Take them with you!

I'm just over 30, and generally happy, but still single. I think the single part is what worries me (and my parents!) most - generally happy with everything else. :)

Why, at the adult age of 27, would you want to party and drink until 10am? What a waste of money and life, do something productive with your time! Partying until 10am is sad if you're older than 21, and I certainly don't see being able to do that as a gauge of how good life is at a certain age.

36 here, and it still keeps getting better. Hell, I might even be looking forward to 40. Teensomething me was all about hacking and girls. 20something me was pleased with his fast cars and suits and career advancement; 30something me thinks those things are dumb, and is pleased with boating with his wife, paying the bills, and saying 'no' to the invitations. You just keep changing and redefining what's important to you. Sure my joints creak after a hard day outdoors, and the wife OMG's over every new grey hair she finds on me. But I honestly do not care, getting older is fun. Every day above ground is an amazing gift.

27yo kids worried about growing old. This is the funniest thing I've ever read on HN. Some sort of parody, right?

I am 26, will be 27 imminently.

I gave myself stomach problems when I was at Uni, partly from alcohol (although not much) and partly from not reading the label on an ibuprofen bottle.

Now I can't drink more than 2 or 3 units (a pint, a large glass of wine) without feeling pretty rough soon afterwards, and the whole of the next day.

Luckily, I've realised that there are more fun things in life than getting wasted and making a fool of yourself trying to climb things (not people, for clarity.)

I don't disagree with the post, but thinking of the ability to drink copiously as an advantage seems upside down to me. Being unable to drink a lot has made life more fun, as I am present in the moment more, and will probably make it last longer too.

This would be a good template for an Onion article, starting with "Area man..."

27? Pff! No much to talk about that age. Wait until you are 45, you will see.

Everyone says that at every age. The other day I heard a 10 year old say "Man, I was so stupid when I was younger, I'm glad that I'm not 6 anymore!"

I'm 28 and I can't party until late hours without consequences on my ability to do anything complex the day after. :/

But then, how boring is partying?

Aaaaand here is the revelation: not everyone who is the same age feels the same way about it!

You're welcome.

There was a series of AskMeFi threads that were much more interesting than either the post or the comments here:

http://ask.metafilter.com/140223/A-Year-in-a-Minute

A friend of mine has a mother who recently turned 101. She was still driving until she was 98.

Today 30 is still young, and 40 isn't middle age any longer. Middle age doesn't really start till you're 50.

You're still a kid, get over it.

Op does not have kids yet.

> yet

Now you're making assumptions.

I just turned 27 and it does feel like a weird age, suddenly you are no longer mid 20s and feel like a bit more like a grown up. Kind of feels like time speeds up the older you get.

The late 20s were a great time for my social and professional development. The beauty is you get to keep all that even after you hit 30.

Being 30 was awesome. I wouldn't worry about 30... I'm pretty sure I recall it being fun.

He's probably an INTP.

fact is, that he won't travel next week, even if he could.

Aging sux.

The irony of this article is that it tries to oppose the whole "getting older" lament while the author is a measly 27... thereby underlining the ridiculous standards for youth by suggesting that late twenties might possibly be viewed as getting old in any shape or form.

Our society/culture has a very narrow definition of youth: if you are older than 25, you are "getting old" or "past your prime" in the eyes of the people that are close to your age. Hell, if you are between 21 and 25 those that are three years younger than you might very well refer to you as "old". It's as if as soon as you can't chow down chocolate icecream for breakfast every day without feeling lethargic and gaining weight, or drink a bottle of vodka one night and get up the next day and run a half marathon you're "getting old".

It's like you have a hot second from the time you are legally your own person and can make your own decisions until suddenly you are "getting old" and you are supposed to spend the rest of your life regretting all the things you didn't do "in your youth" because you are 27 and your brow is slightly furrowed... what the hell?

(But I'm in my mid twenties myself so I don't know how it is to turn 30, 40... take what I say with a grain of salt)

Mid twenties or not, you are exactly right.

Yes a friend of mine was seriously calling me old when she was 21 and I was 25. We can only laugh about that..

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