Did anyone's life here get better after 25?

[DerekG]

I'm in the autumn of what many deem "the best years." But I'd hate to think this seven year stretch--when I tried and failed to find Meaning and/or Love--was a peak of any kind.

Did things get better for anyone?

[NightWatcher]

1. I havent peaked yet and I'm at 32. things keep getting better

the older I get, the more I know and the more I appreciate life.

[mondo joe]

2. I'm 43 and think it's always getting better.

:hi:

[CreekDog]

3. Yup, gets better

37 here. 20's were just okay actually, teens were better, but 30's way better than 20's.

I think 20's are about trying to do all that you want to do whether possible or not.

Your 30's are when you really start knowing how to do things and you begin to accept as valuable the things you learn you are good at. I've found this to be a very contented decade as it goes on.

[Burma Jones]

4. Mine certainly did, haven't peaked yet and I'm 48

Enjoy being a youngster. Meaning and Love can wait. I think a person needs to do a lot of dangerous and foolish stuff before they get an inkling of Meaning and Love. However, Lust before you're 25 is just prime.......

[Ptah]

5. Yes, my children were born when I was 32 and 33.

Click for a video I made about them

[ileus]

6. my life was F'd up at 25, took until 30 to get it right.

[bicentennial_baby]

40. Same here!

[NMDemDist2]

7. my 40s were the best decade of my life so far

young enough to feel and look good, old enough to be smart about the world and what I wanted from it.

:rofl:

edit to add, my wise and wonderful husband says a man doesn't even begin to hit his stride until at least 28

hang in there

[mainegreen]

8. Oh hell yes.

Every year since I was 18 has been better than the year before.

[LaraMN]

9. Oh hell yeah!

You couldn't pay me to be back in the first half of my twenties!

[lizerdbits]

10. I'm happier at 33

I don't know why that's supposed to be the best time. Love doesn't have to be found at a certain age. As for meaning, it seems to change as you go.

[youthere]

11. Oh hell yes...

I wouldn't go back and "re-do" my twenties for anything...or even my early thirties for that matter.

[DS1]

12. about the same, averaged out

:shrug:

[AlCzervik]

13. way better.

[triguy46]

14. Yes. The road is long and you are just beginning.

[erinlough]

15. Let's see...

25....married to an abusive partner.....broke......screwed up
55....married to a wonderful partner....debt free..looking forward to the rest of my life

The best time of all is right now.

[Pushed To The Left]

16. Whoever came up with the "best years of your life" crap needs to be shot

I used to always hear people say that about the teen years: "These are the best years of your life!". Definitely NOT the case in my experience. I think my life has improved slightly since I was 25 (I'm 35 now)and I'm MUCH happier than I was in my teens. I predict my late 30's and beyond will be much happier than my previous years because I plan on finally getting my life together!

[grace0418]

57. People who say that are people who peaked in high school (or college).

25 is nowhere near the best time of your life.

[Fox Mulder]

17. I'm hoping it does.

I'll be 26 in less than two months and my life sucks.

[Fire Walk With Me]

18. Yes.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

19. No, it's sucked pretty evenly.

[winterlight]

24. Experience makes you handle problems better

Remember, experience is learning from your problems when it's too late.

[liberaltrucker]

20. Depends on the meds

:rofl:

[Book Lover]

46. !

:rofl:

[flvegan]

21. Very much so.

I won't elaborate. Not enough time/space.

[YDogg]

22. I hardly remember 25.

Not *really* but it seems like a hell of a long tome ago. Our child was born after I was 25, so yeah, some cool stuff has happened since then.

[BarenakedLady]

23. Life is a series of ebbs and flows.

I don't think that ever ends.

[Aristus]

25. Yes. I met my wife-to-be when I was 26. She was 35. (Older women ROCK!)

Changed my life for the better. Before that time, I seem to have spent my life waiting...

Waiting for I didn't know what. Just waiting. Finally it happened. Or maybe I should say, SHE happened. Life is good. B-)

[Mad_Dem_X]

50. You go, boy!

Older women DO rock. :)

[Rowdyboy]

26. In my case, yes....I had a good time in my twenties and early thirties but when I met

my partner at age 35 my life really began. Twenty years later I can barely remember what it was like to be alone. I enjoyed the years of my youth and I made great friends-I even have a god-daughter-but my life now is MUCH better.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

27. You're still at the beginning of the adventure.

At 25 I was a factory worker and a raging 3-times-a-week passing out drunk. Since those days I've had many jobs, met many great people, and I have seen many incredible wonders.

Now I work for myself, I have friends and family who count on me, and I have a pet cat who's been at my side for fifteen years. AND I haven't taken so much as a sip of alcohol since 1982 (I was 27 when I put the bottle down).

Now, at the age of 52 I'm firmly in the middle of my glory days, and I anticipate them continuing for thirty more years, minimum.

[DarkTirade]

28. A little so far.

But it's only been a year. :P

[grannylib]

29. Yes and no...some things have gotten better and some things have

gotten worse...
Got married (to the right guy this time!) and we had our beautiful Sarahbellum and I finished college on the 17-year-plan and my two older daughters grew and thrived and Sarahbellum grew and thrived and I worked in a dream job for many years and then the two grandbabies came...
And then our oldest daughter was killed by a drunk driver, leaving the grandchildren without their mom and leaving us all heartbroken, and I lost it and lost my job and nearly went out of my mind with grief and then my dad died and then my father in law died and then my husband got laid off and then he got critically ill and nearly died and had 8 surgeries in 9 months and was in the hospital for weeks and we had no insurance and he was out of work for over a year and had no bennies since he was working a temp job at the time and he got sick TWO DAYS before I was eligible for insurance at the new job I got (which paid less than half of what I had been making) and we're still trying to pay the bills off from that disaster and then my hours at my current job got cut at the same time the insurance we now have rose by 15% and then I developed a chronic (non-life-threatening) illness and I'm working three jobs PT and our furnace died during the coldest fucking week of the entire winter and we spent 6 days with no central heat and it was 20 below and with the financial problems we've had we had a helluva time getting financing for a new furnace and now we did but have payments of almost $200/month on that, and I'm worried about fucking EVERYTHING so I don't know, you tell me...I know I do have a lot for which to be thankful but it's hard to remember that some days

OK I'll shut up now, sorry

[OmahaBlueDog]

30. I actually enjoyed the 25-35 years more...

...but once you turn 40, it's like your brain turns to sludge.

[Wcross]

31. Indubitably.

I am 44 & I don't miss the old days at all. I hope you aren't considering the alternative.

[unsavedtrash]

32. It depends. Mostly better but at times I miss the freedom I had at that age.

A lot more responsibility now and more demands on my time.
Though I met my great love after 25 and really figured out what I want to do professionally.


But I could do without being completely gray at 38.

[kwassa]

33. my late 20s were the worst, then things changed .....

and have steadily improved, though there were some real dry spells in my 30s, too. Now in the fabulous 50s.

[SPKrazy]

34. I'd say I wish at 25

I'd stuck with things like jogging and working out more consistently.

Read more.

Had more fun and not been so serious at that time

but, i think I like years after that much better.

Where I"m at now is an interesting place.

I'm more stressed, freaked out, yet there is a freedom that has come with the wisdom of the aging process? Or something that I'm in a position to do things I was not ready to do at that age. But that is just me. I'm a late late bloomer? I dunno.

:hi:

[NNadir]

35. Absolutely.

My twenties were exciting in a way, but they were also extremely painful and extremely lonely.

At one point, I just thought about giving up.

It seems strange now, there has been so much wonder and joy afterwards. It's never easy but really, life can be such joy.

[GOPisEvil]

36. Life got a lot better after 30 for me.

I wouldn't go back to my 20s for all the tea in China.

[qb]

37. My life got way better at 43....

I came out :)

[Madrone]

38. Better after 25??

Yes, yes, a THOUSAND times, yes!

35 now, and it's getting better. Nowhere near peaking yet I'd say.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. Definitely, yes

Anyone who tells a young person, "These are the best years of your life" is a sadist--or must be a really miserable person.

[AngryAmish]

41. yes

roughish patch 29-36 but everything is seashells and balloons

[SKKY]

42. At 25, I never would have contemplated running an ultra-marathon...

...and in 2 months I'll be doing my 2nd. Thinks take a different perspective when you're "30 something", and I think that's what makes the difference.

[applegrove]

43. My life opened up after 25. It was a renaissance for a few years. The best years

of my life were from 25 to 30 (after childhood).

[Book Lover]

44. Baby, it's getting better all the time

Ain't just a lyric... Just wait until you find out how stupid everyone younger than you is - it's a very liberating feeling :-)

[Greyskye]

45. By orders of magnitude!

It really started rocking in the early 30's. Good times! :evilgrin:

Hang in there!

[Richardo]

47. Oh hell yes.

In most ways.

[Iggo]

48. Better and better every day.

Health insurance is part of it, I'm sure. I'm getting old, just like everyone, but the stress of not having insurance is thankfully something I no longer experience.

[Mad_Dem_X]

49. I'm 41 and my life is the best it's been so far

My life started getting better after I turned 30.

[TK421]

51. Meh....I have to say no to that one

I've only gotten deeper in debt these past five years

[Samurai_Writer]

52. 40s have been the best for me so far

In my 20s, I was miserable. Went through a divorce and custody dispute, worked, went to college fulltime and raised a kid on my own (Dad moved out of state as soon as the divorce was final).

In my 30s, I was doing better, but my son was now a teenager, and that was a difficult time. Was laid off twice due to company reorganizations. Got married and divorced a second time (won't ever make that mistake again!). Weathered through it all, and did OK.

In my 40s, my son is grown and on his own, I have moved cross-country twice and finally found the place I was meant to be. I'm happy with my life, as I have a great family, wonderful boyfriend, good job, and have downsized my life economically. Bought a mobile home this past year, and am debt-free except for medical bills.

I also think that in my 40s, I let go of all those dreams of youth, and concentrated on what realistically will make me happy in my life. I was perfectly happy being single and not in a relationship, for example. Yes, I found a great guy, but I wasn't trying and I wasn't stressing over it.

Hang in there, it DOES get better. The 20s are tough, because you're expected to transition from youth/student to adult/career-minded.

[Coyote_Bandit]

53. 18 to 25 = the seven year ache

During that time I earned my bachelors degree and a graduate degree and a professional degree. No way would I do it again. Built some good friendships. Some that still exist decades later. Some that grew apart as separate lives took separate paths. Glad I didn't marry any of the guys I dated during this time.

I grew up in a small rural area and the sum total of my career advice was "get a good education, work hard, get good grades and you'll get a good job." Worst. advice. ever. I ended up studying something I was interested in but not suited for in an industry that already had an oversupply of labor. Later I compounded that by adding still more education. I wish in retrospect that I had taken a couple of those years to really investigate different career opportunities and to travel a bit. I think I would have pursued a completely different education and career path. And I damn sure wouldn't be living in (J)Oklahoma. I'm 40 something, in the process of re-inventing muself and doing things I should have done just out of high school.

Yeah. Life definitely gets better after 25. You have a better sense of yourself and what you really need to thrive. You also have more context to understand other people. That knowledge gives you more power to life life the way you need and want. And you are equipped to make better decisions.

[av8rdave]

54. They got way better for me....

Had my kids, things went well professionally. Then things really sucked for a few years, but got better again.

[easttexaslefty]

55. I most definitely

liked my last 25 years better than the first 25. The start of the third 25 is horrible, however.

[mak3cats]

56. After 25 what? (n/t)

[LostinVA]

58. WAY better -- it took me until my early 30's, I think

[Jamastiene]

59. I quit feeling so much angst and emotional pain so often after 25,

but that's when the physical aches and pains started kicking in. It's a fair trade off on most days, until it's getting ready to rain. Then I long for my drugs. I miss my drugs. I did drugs heavily before 25 and have been clean for the last 100 years. I miss my drugs. I want drugs.

[JoePhilly]

60. 44 ... still getting better ...

If my body hold out.

[China_cat]

61. Yeah. I met the man I've now been married to for 34 years.

[Pacifist Patriot]

62. They got better after 25, after 30, after 35...and I'm assuming the same...

will happen when I turn 40 this year. Seriously.

[Richard Steele]

63. Yup. Things started coming together for me around age 30. nm

[NewJeffCT]

64. my life sucked before 26, heck... before 30

it wasn't until I hit 30 that I started getting laid regularly, bought a house, settled down, got married (twice), fathered a child.

I was painfully shy in high school, and not much better in college and it took me several years afterwards to overcome that.

[InvisibleTouch]

65. For a while. Then it crashed & burned again.

But I expect it to get better again from here. I haven't reached the "best years" of my life yet.