My birthday's next month. Yipee! Only I will be 25 years old. A quarter of a century old. Hurrah.
I remember my 18th birthay. That was loads of fun... I was saying to myself, "I can get a driver's license now! I can get to watch movies rated 18+! Now I can..."
"Sue and be sued." Said my mom. Thanks mom...
Now, everything's seem different. I know I may be overreacting since 25 is not such an "old" age. Hey, mid-twenties are the next best thing after your teens. Your body's more adaptive, muscle fibers grow and develop quicker, a man in his mid-twenties "perform" better since he can make up with experience what any endurance lost when he's in his teens, and people tend to take you more seriously (this last bit is relative, though). This is the age where independence and opportunity comes hand-in-hand for wider avenues for some. This is when boys really become men. Not just before, but more so nowadays.
Except in my case, I get to hang around with people YOUNGER than me. And when you're twenty-five and already graduated from college, and mid-way to post-graduate studies and into possibly a career path (albeit mine seems so senseless), the guy who happens to be my age is billed as "the old one". Yep, they make fun of my age. At first I get irritated, throw another witty remark in retaliation, but the whole effort is futile. You cannot win in terms of chronology what you already passed by. Hell, some even LAP me. And since I get to stay in a very, very, very, lively dormitory, and I am delayed by two years in law school, the people you hang out with DO NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE. Big deal, you may say. Well... It isn't really, at least for us. It is to them young'uns.
What do they see in us? I would ask myself. Rather, how did I see those who are older than me when I was in my late teens up to my first year after graduating college? I grew up as the only kid at home, since my cousins who were almost my age left for the States when I was young, so I was immersed in the world of grown-ups. No problem. But then I get to go to college. So there I was, hanging with upperclassmen with "awesome" and "cool" going through my head when I get to know what they do for fun, when not in school, or whatnot. It was great, and I remember teasing them also about their age. So, I guess what goes around comes around.
So here I am, the "old guy". Come to think of it, I'm not that old... I mean, look at my dad. Now that's old. Or somebody's grandpa. NOW THAT IS OLD AGE. A friend of mine said that, they (the ones who always tease me) are just looking for somebody to look up to.
Me: "So, you're saying is?"
Psych Pal: "They're just looking for an older brother figure."
Me: "Must you use the word - old?"
Psych Pal: "I mean, it's true, man. Hell, I'm 29 years old and younger guys at the clinic make fun of me all the time, but when they're in trouble, guess who they go to?"
Me: "Their moms?"
Psych Pal: "You got that right. They'll cry and piss their pants when they realize what shit they got themselves into."
Me: "Like how you did when-"
Psych Pal: "Shaddup. I was saying they come to me for advice... The 'old guy'."
And I guess he's right in one way or another. I mean, we've been there, done that. Did this, know a lot more... So, I guess it's just fair.
Now, when they say, "dude, you're old." I don't quip a witty remark back at them designed to attack their naive and immature view of the real world, though I can, and just say, "uh, yeah. I am." Most of the time it stops them, but sometimes they keep on pressing, like they have something to prove. My thinking is, you haven't proven anything yet, virgin. (that was my one-time favorite 'witty quip' to throw back at them, but decided to stop using it since it is way too harsh) All I do now is smile and throw a witty remark at them, but this time designed in a different way, not attacking them but helping me at the same time.
"Bro, you're old"
I answer, "Yeah... Care to buy me arthritis pills?"
or, "Yeah, I just got my senior citizen's card."
or, "my high BP's acting up again."
Sometimes, I will make fun of myself. And I do admit it IS fun.
"Im old now, not as fast as you guys, so... you do it."
"Hey, I'm older than you."
"My back... I pulled something when I was with that girl last night. Man, I hate being old."
"Magmano sa nakakatanda..."
And now, come to think of it, I do enjoy being the older guy. I'm more positive of things, I realize I'm not easily shaken, and I know a lot of stuff now... cool stuff to boot. The more that I enjoy it, the more I feel, strangely enough... younger. I can't explain it but when I was in my college years, I just can't handle the tension which made me haggard. Because I didn't know how to react. As the - hahaha! - age-old saying goes, experience is the best teacher. Now like I said, I know what to do now and I need little advice. And when I do need advice, I make sure I get it from the ones with experience with it, and who's most likely been there. Now, I feel better about myself, I feel stronger even I joke about having rheumatism (part of the sore joints is true, though. It's a gene thing), and I'm happier.
Another cliche I'd like to add, before ending this entry goes: "with age comes wisdom."
And so does wisdom teeth. Ouch.
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