Ever been told you have an "old soul?" I get that
a lot. I don't believe in reincarnation. Even in my spiritualist/idealist
college days when a bunch of my friends went through their Buddhist phases, I
did not believe in reincarnation. Because no benevolent force would ever allow
something so horrific. Living another life over and over and over after you
die? As far as I'm concerned, that is the definition of Hell.
I know a number of other people who get the "old
soul" comments, too. I noticed that we all have something in common: we spent a huge
chunk of our childhoods surrounded by adults, without other children for
company. After a while, you get used to this to the point where you prefer
to hang around the adults even when there is a group of other kids to play
with. I presume this is why I got along so well with the parents of some of my
friends in high school...
Recently someone pointed out to me that some of my friendships are abnormal. I was reminiscing about the trips to Atlantic City I
used to take with my friend Ch. (who is a huge hippie btw). I was
stopped mid-story with a "....wait, you're friends with Ch.? I thought you
were friends with her daughter?"
Lol.
Ch. has a daughter my age. We were bff's from like age 6
through age 14. We're not friends anymore--we just grew apart, and then the
last time I saw her I realized I don't really like her anymore. But now I'm
friends with her mother.
I have two other friends like this--I used to be friends
with their kids, but now I hang out with the moms instead. Is that weird? I
never thought it was. Age differences mean nothing to me. Biologically, we all
stop maturing in our late teens. I know people who use their age to talk down
to younger people--even if that younger person is in their 30s or 40s--and basically
treat them like they're children (i.e., "You're only ##, you're a
baby!"). I don't really understand that. Yes, I know there are 10 years between myself
and my youngest siblings, and yes I remember changing their diapers and feeding
them in the middle of the night, but they're still like my best friends now.
You reach a certain age, and the age difference doesn't matter anymore.
I'm also really really awful at determining someone else's
age. I hate when people ask me how old I think they look, because honestly I
have no freaking clue how old you are. 20? 30? 55? 90? No idea. Perhaps this is
payback for the confusion I apparently cause others--according to a number of
acquaintances, I come off as much older than I am, but I look much younger than
I am (yay!), and this is perplexing.
Everyone keeps telling me I'm going to be upset when I turn
30 in September. Are y'all kidding?? I can't wait. My 20s SUCKED ASS. Bring it
on.
I think I have a bit of an old soul, but I don't think anyone has really said anything to me about it. I would definitely say I grew up young though. Not that I had many adult friends, I just learned from an early age what a bitch life could be. It's not that weird to crave some maturity even if you are young. 'Sides, older people tend to have crazier stories.
ReplyDeleteMy kids keep reminding me I am old, i think they forget the soul thing.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty good at guessing ages 18-29, anything else I am clueless.
You are right about looking forward to your 30's they get better. The 40's and 50's not so good, 30's good, 60's the best!
Yep yep. I've been told that a lot. I think you're definitely onto something with who we spent our childhoods with. I've had quite a few friends who I've ended up being closer to their parents instead, and even my peer circles always seem to run at least five years older than I am. I suck at guessing ages too. I've always been told I look older than my age as well, though I think I may've 'caught up'. When I was 16, people thought I was 20-25, but now I think my age suits my appearance.
ReplyDeleteLoving the A-Z challenge so far! I couldn't have made it to 'O' if I tried. Keep it up <3 xx
You've definitely hit upon it with your comment about being with older people and no other children. I was an only child, so I was involved - by default - in almost all of the adult conversations in my family (no cousins, either, until I was 6 or 7.) I think it improved my vocabulary and my ability to concentrate; it definitely made me comfortable expressing my opinion to other adults; and now I've grown into it by actually being old!
ReplyDeleteWhich is a good thing. I am nowhere near as devastated by any loss of youth as some others who were not old to begin with! :-)
DeleteWhen I was little the only thing that kept me from killing myself was the thought that "What if reincarnation is real and I have to live through things like this again right over as soon as I die?! . . . No thanks" There is no gaurantee that you come back to a better life, after all. It was safer to live with the devil I knew :/
ReplyDeleteLol I got on a lot better with my mates Mums than with my mates. It was super weird. My mates didn't like it very much :s
Lol I used to be able to guess within a year of someone's actual age. I had to ID people for alcohol and tobaccoo purchases. Only time I ever fucked up was when a bloke's greying pattern looked like shiny hair gel 0.0;