Reddit Gets Brutally Honest About Adulthood: ‘When Do People Feel Like Proper Adults?’
People on Reddit recently got brutally honest about adulthood and their feelings about age, imposter syndrome and faking it 'til they make it.
Sometimes adulthood can feel ridiculously out of reach.
"I feel like a child masquerading as an adult most days. I'm just wondering, when do most people start feeling like proper adults?" a frustrated 24-year-old pondered in a viral post on the forum.
Their existential query sparked a flood of responses from honest Reddit users.
According to the internet, adults never mentally feel like they are adults. Their bodies, however, certainly clue them in on their actual age.
"Hate to break it to you, man. Mentally, you'll always feel 18, but your body won't be able to keep up," one Reddit user shared.
"Mentally, I'm the same because I will still laugh at farts and d--k jokes," another wrote.
"Well, your genes start making less perfect copies around 27. Meaning aging actually starts. So you're beginning to rot. That's a fun thought," someone else commented.
Some can recall the the specific age they discovered the grim reality of their mortality.
"Weirdly, I didn't get that 'click' until this year, when I turned 37. Like damn, I'm nearly 40. And then it hit. The reality of my mortality," a user commented.
"Turned 27 in October. For the past year or so, I've been feeling the 'getting older' part, it's now a reality, and it is genuinely saddening," someone else shared.
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"Isn't it nuts knowing nobody escapes death? I'm 29 and think about it often! Ugh. There's strength in numbers! How grim," another weighed in.
Leaning on friendships and relationships with those who are older than you can help put mortality and growing up into perspective.
"I lol'd because I feel the same at 56. I have found one thing that puts it in perspective, though… I work out at the YMCA, and many of the regular guys I see are in their late 60s, 70s and even a couple in their early 80s. Whenever I've mentioned stressing about my age in front of them, they'd laugh at me and tell me I'm a youngster. It immediately helps me, and I feel better," one wise Reddit user shared.
"Don’t be intimidated by those older than you. Even the people in suits and corner offices are still laughing at fart jokes when no one is looking," another wrote.
At the end of the day, no one ever really feels like a "proper adult."
"I'm 30. This feeling never goes away. This really hit me when I was doing contract work supporting the Marine Corps, and I saw all these 18- to 20-year-olds, people that out of uniform I would 100% consider being kids, just being highly disciplined and doing things I would never have imagined," one person wrote.
"You will never feel like an adult. That is because you will always stay yourself. And 'yourself' started being 'yourself' when you were a child. So you will always feel like a child. You can, however, gain a feeling of control, which stems from self-confidence and control over your life," another explained.
"We fake it till we make it, baby," someone else joked, summing things up nicely.
Getting older can't be helped, but growing up is always optional. Did Reddit miss any brutal truths about getting older? Let PopCrush know by connecting with us on Facebook or Twitter.