I am 35 years old with a baby and an amazing woman, just I believe that I lost 10 years of my life I mean 2010-2020, I miss being 25 looking at my pictures 10 years ago doing stupid and silly fun with the boys fishing in the dam hunting snakes and use them am pets I still have my amazing five snakes finally release them to the wild, getting a baby owl two months later my mom released it to the wild, getting a cheap 80's car and modify it with an upgraded engine and grett turbo kit I really feel nostalgic-emotional every time I look at my friends we all now seized to exist we all have kids and start having gray hair I miss us young we were stupid and happy when we gather we really have the same thoughts to go to the dam to fish but we have kids and wives and family commitments and this never happened again. I just want to say if you feel you miss 25 years old YOU, just act 25 years old YOU now, contact your friends and tell them what do you feel because they feel the same so you guys won't be left stranded in the wilderness of your current life, PEOPLE FROM THE 80's we are the happiest let's keep it that way.

I loved my 20s, liked my thirties, but my best years have been 43-53.

Anonymous wrote:Some people clearly had miserable lives in their youth. You don't want to relive that time. We get it. But for those of us who really loved it or even who just really enjoyed certain aspects of it, we miss part of all of it. Some of us had different experiences from those who didn't enjoy it. Not sure why some posters feel the need to argue that youth wasn't so great and we're not entitled to miss it.

You sound irritating. My teens and twenties were terrible and not carefree, and I definitely don’t miss them. In fact, I despise clueless people who generalize that your 20’s are so awesome and filled with travel and fun. Mine weren’t and I guess I’m jealous, but at least my life is much better now. Come at me, I don’t care.

I had a blast in my 20s! I got married very young. We were 22. After college graduation we traveled and just had so much fun together! Having young children was a whole different kind of fun! We have five and when they were little, life was crazy! I miss the chaos, the noise, and the constant activity. My 40s were more mellow. Our kids were tweens/teens. I went back to work. DH and I had more free time. We bought a sailboat and learned to sail, learned to swing dance, ran marathons, and started hiking. We are in our 50s now. DH retires in two years (55). I’m working part time in a job I love. Our kids are grown and all of them are doing well, at least right now. Life is quiet, predictable, and peaceful. My grandchildren are just the best little beings ever!

I don’t type all that to brag. We have been through some incredibly difficult years. I sent two children off to war. Both of them were wounded. My daughter nearly died from an eating disorder. One of the kids struggled with gender dysphoria. We made plenty of parenting mistakes. Life was sometimes prickly and messy. But every decade has been wonderful. I don’t miss my youth. Being a healthy, active 53 year old woman is so much better than I ever could have expected. And getting old is a gift denied to many.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a child in my mid-twenties so I’d have some time to do what I wanted after she left home. The care-free life of travel and fun is just around the bend for me.

Yeah, but being care free and traveling isn't anywhere near as fun at 40 as it is at 20. It's a mind-set that just can't come back.

This. It's very different when the whole world is built for single people in their 20's - early 30's to have fun. Everywhere you turn there are people your age having the same collective carefree experience. I hope I still have some wonderful times ahead of me, but I know it will never be like it was when we were all young.

A lot of young people aren't "carefree." I'm not sure why you would assume that. You must come from money.

Anyone who was broke in their early twenties were not gallivanting around the world "carefree."

I am much more carefree now at 38 than I was a decade ago. Know why? Cuz I have the security of several million dollars in the bank now. And the income to enjoy it.

Not necessarily. I did most of my gallivanting around the world. I studied abroad (cheaper than my semesters in the US), traveled on a shoestring budget, and then got grants and fellowships and internships abroad between undergrad and grad school. Lots of gallivanting. I miss it. And I miss the adventure of the low-budget travel, that really is best handled in your 20s. You're forced to know the language, navigate the public transit system, stay in hostels and such... no four-star hotels and cab rides or hiring people to do things for you.
My passport that I had from age 16-26 was full and I had to add pages to it!

I miss being considered worthy of living by the Open up the country crowd (I’m 50+)

I miss being able to drink even a half bottle of wine or three beers at a time without being tired and head-achy the next day. That's about it though.

I'm 49 and my twenties....what I miss: no aches, no pains, the short recovery time of partying all night, spur of the moment plans for the weekend, dancing til dawn, just the possibility of it all, my drop dead gorgeous body.
What I dont miss: I have confidence in myself now that I didnt have in my 20s that is just awesome.

Anonymous wrote:Some people clearly had miserable lives in their youth. You don't want to relive that time. We get it. But for those of us who really loved it or even who just really enjoyed certain aspects of it, we miss part of all of it. Some of us had different experiences from those who didn't enjoy it. Not sure why some posters feel the need to argue that youth wasn't so great and we're not entitled to miss it.

Some posters are taking the tone that seems judgmental to those of us who didn't have amazing 20s. Mine weren't bad, at all, and I was quite happy when I was in my 20s, but it also wasn't an inherently special time either. I studied and worked and traveled, but I still work and still travel and I still keep myself engaged through reading and cultural events. I like my life today better. So I don't miss my 20s. And people shouldn't scold me or look disparagingly at me for saying this either.

Some people clearly had miserable lives in their youth. You don't want to relive that time. We get it. But for those of us who really loved it or even who just really enjoyed certain aspects of it, we miss part of all of it. Some of us had different experiences from those who didn't enjoy it. Not sure why some posters feel the need to argue that youth wasn't so great and we're not entitled to miss it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't come from money at all. But my 20s were still carefree and I saved up and traveled. I traveled on a shoestring budget. At one point, I traveled the world for a year on $12000. Backpacks, hostels, local ground transportation - one of the best years of my life.

I get that youth isn't a great time for everyone but for those of us from whom it was, it is easy to miss and hard to realize you will have never have that again.

Doesn't mean the rest of life is awful, just that you look back and realize that you have already had the best season of your life. Lots of other good even great seasons of life but definitely my 20s was the best.

Excellent post. This nails it.

Rather depressing to think your 20s was the best season of your life when you still have another 60+ years ahead of you...

I've just turned 40 and people in their early-mid 20s are still kids to me. They look like slightly more grown up teenagers and often behave like one too. I don't envy them. I also am thankful I don't fall into the trap of thinking my 20s was the best period of my life so the rest of adulthood only pales by comparison.

DP.
Trying not to generalize, but, on average, a 25-year-old looks better, feels better and has more energy than a 65-year-old. And happiness is subjective, so I totally understand a formerly broke PP who was having a blast traveling the world on a shoestring. My MIL is sitting on a gazillion of dollars and is one of the unhappiest, nastiest bitches the world has produced (IMHO, partly because she spent her youth worrying about said gazillions and never actually living it up).
As for professional success, yes, a 25-year-old is, generally, less successful than a 50-year-old, although that also depends on the occupation.

I'm 36 and cannot relate to this at all. My 20s were a grind. Hard work, heartache, struggling to find myself and carve out an identity... no thanks. Now in my mid 30s I'm finally seeing the fruits of my labor (good marriage, nice home, kids, satisfying career) and I'm more self assured so I can actually enjoy it all. Plus I'm in better shape to boot. I'd never go back.

Anonymous wrote:My early 20's sucked and I wouldn't want to re-live them.

Me too! I’m turning 41 in a week but would not go back to those years if I had a choice. It sucked. I look better now too.

I hate the health aspect of growing older, but, I do not envy the uncertainty of youth. At my stage, I can look at my life and feel very good about my life choices, having a great marriage, loving husband, no money issues, healthy and successful kids, closeknit family, friends, house, education, hobbies. I did not think that I could achieve all of this, and I did. I can only look at what my life has become after the years of struggle now, so now is a pretty good place to be.

I got more than I ever thought possible and my worst fears never came true. How lucky is to see that in your 50s?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't come from money at all. But my 20s were still carefree and I saved up and traveled. I traveled on a shoestring budget. At one point, I traveled the world for a year on $12000. Backpacks, hostels, local ground transportation - one of the best years of my life.

I get that youth isn't a great time for everyone but for those of us from whom it was, it is easy to miss and hard to realize you will have never have that again.

Doesn't mean the rest of life is awful, just that you look back and realize that you have already had the best season of your life. Lots of other good even great seasons of life but definitely my 20s was the best.

Excellent post. This nails it.

Rather depressing to think your 20s was the best season of your life when you still have another 60+ years ahead of you...

I've just turned 40 and people in their early-mid 20s are still kids to me. They look like slightly more grown up teenagers and often behave like one too. I don't envy them. I also am thankful I don't fall into the trap of thinking my 20s was the best period of my life so the rest of adulthood only pales by comparison.