Never one to be the tallest in the room, when I wait in lines, I have gotten used to being surrounded by taller people. I’ve gotten well acquainted with the reactionary motion of looking up when someone speaks to me. It’s all very typical.
Yet, on one particularly grey afternoon in the HUB, I found myself waiting in line with, quite possibly, some of Penn State’s tallest students. I stood, in the midst of tall boys who obviously worked out a great deal and overheard a wonderful snippet of their conversation. The dialogue went as followed (sans a few upbeat profane words):
Guy 1: Dude, I love your new beard.
Guy 2: Thanks. You need to grow some scruff!
Guy 1: I can’t! I’ll look too old.
Guy 2: Word, bro. I’ve been trying to look younger lately.
Okay, I stood amongst these gentlemen for about 7 minutes – enough time to properly estimate their age, as tall as they may be, at about 21. This made me think, since when is 21 old? When did college become the precursor to the retirement home? Why, as a society, are we so obsessed with growing older?
In the September 1994 issue of Psychology Today, this very mindset was discussed. The article, entitled Learning to Love Growing Old, by Jere Daniel, noted that, though we are psychologically unaware, aging “ultimately robs our life of any meaning.”
Essentially, we are unprepared to age, unprepared to face the challenges and costs that aging causes. Society today is preoccupied with being younger - hence we have the epidemic that is plastic surgery. We want to ignore aging, as much as possible. We want to put off the inevitable.
In today’s world, 21 year olds may be putting off their birthdays because they want to cling to their youth. The job market is rough and once one enters it, his/her youth slowly slips away.
Thus, even though it struck me as odd that students are worrying about how they appear, it makes perfect sense. Looking young is related to feeling young – and feeling young is a fleeting joy in the fast pace society in which we live.
I was born in June 1991 and feel like an old man when I'm around with other young freshmen. Though there isn't a huge age gap, I feel like I'm missing something out. Without preparing for getting old leads us to a place where we just mourn our youth rather than enjoy being old.
ReplyDeleteI think the conversation you overheard is hilarious! However, I think around that age most people would want to be older. Im 19 and I went to a buffet the other day and the woman asked me if i was 14...you can imagine my shock. I wish I looked older
ReplyDeleteI thought this posting was so interesting and insightful. I know I always overhear the weirdest conversations, but I like that you were able to make sense of this. All too often we pay too much attention to becoming old, lamenting on our past, and what we should have done. I think we all need to just try to enjoy life (and as cliche as this sounds) live life to the fullest! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI do not fear the challenges ahead. I embrace them. As an agriculture major I joke with my friends and say when we are older I will show up on their doorsteps with a crate of fresh food every day. I look forward to the adult years and being immersed in my career. I do fear death though. That would be my only "beef" with growing old.
ReplyDeleteThe conversation you heard doesn't surprise me in the least. I stand among crowds in the HUB, at The Mix, and around the White Building (some of a few places around campus) and hear coversations like this all of the time. On the one hand, it amazes me that people are this...ignorant? I think that's an applicable word. And yet, I've become used to it. Oh, the lovely ways of society.
ReplyDeleteI'm slow in responding, but this is a great post, Kelsey. You add a lot of insight into this one overheard conversation.
ReplyDeleteI'd be ancient by those students' standards, by the way, yet I fully plan on still feeling young forever.