Why do older people consider themselves wiser and smarter?
They really think that experience defines someone.They say things like : “Poor you! you’re so young.You don’t know what life is.”.It’s really annoying.I’m really sure one can find answers about life through many ways.I didn’t fall in love, I didn’t get married, I didn’t get my own house, I didn’t have sex, I didn’t get my own driver license, I’m not a father or grandfather, I didn’t have a career, I didn’t found true happiness.So what? think I’m upset because I didn’t do everything or good part of the things I could have done or still can do? I’m 17.Young but not dumb.
There are people who commit suicide when they’re 40+.It’s acceptable when those ones’s lives just have gotten a crap a few years before they have decided to took their lives away.But what about those ones who have suffered since their teenage, did they take all this time to realise they’ve lost the “game”? did they really think things would get better even when it was clear they wouldn’t?.
Some of them treat us (young ones) like we don’t know we’re doing.Some of them, told me I’m too young to commit suicide, that they have faced all the struggles I’m facing now, and that I should wait.Wait? What for? more suffering? nope, thanks.I’m independent, I won’t be the one crying over pointless struggles.
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Wise? Maybe. Smart? Fuck no.
Some folks are like a fine wine that only get better with time, then there are those who are more like an open wound left to fester and eventually deteriorate as time progresses. I won’t question your cognitive ability whatsoever – you sure as feck know what you’re doing.
You’d best be ready for what you’re about to undertake. Fill your boots, Kira. Give ’em hell!
You are remembered, believe it or not.
@Kira
Most people are not so smart when they’re younger, they’re impulsive, short-sighted, overly emotional and so forth. While I’m in my early 40s, I remember my 20s like they were literally just yesterday-I feel like the same person however I just feel that I’m much wiser than I used to be.
But you are correct when you say that you don’t have to be older to know if your life is not going to get any better. One of my biggest worries when I was in my 20s was that things wouldn’t get better for me and they didn’t. Don’t have a house (yet), not married, haven’t had a vacation since forever, it’s been rough going for me. Most of that is due to my own decision making though.
And I agree with you-if you realize your life is shit and will never get any better, then someone older really isn’t going to tell you something you don’t already know. I don’t know your particular circumstances but only you know if your life will improve or not. Mine never did as mentioned and that’s really made things even more pointless for me than ever before.
Things would be better for me if girls wanted to date me but it’s always been so inconsistent. Some girls are very attracted to me, most won’t give me the time of day…I’m not a bad looking guy, but they’ll fuck guys 10 times uglier…but they won’t date me. Part of my problem is that I’m not in the right environments to meet women…anyways, the strikes against me that make me un-dateable just keep going up as I age.
I have a reached an acceptance of my eventual death-while there’s so many things I’d like to do, so many ways I can contribute to society, I’m also pulled in the other direction-of apathy, self-hate, sadness, etc. There are people who count on me in my life and that’s one reason I haven’t ended it-but just coming up with a method and pulling it off is the other challenge. I am getting closer to that decision-but I plan to maybe suffer for a few more years at least to see if things do improve. But definitely by my 50s if nothing has changed, then it’s over for me.
It’s a very cruel thing for two people to force a life on someone when those two people happen to be scumbags. There should be some minimum requirements for people to have kids. Now I’m stuck with my selfish parents decision living a life I never wanted. But they’re no different from animals-like most humans, eat and procreate. 40 years of suffering and misery and nothing to show for it.
Secondlife: I like the way you think.
I really like your post secondlife
@EK2020 and Uptown234
Thanks guys, sometimes I vent about my life and brood over the “should’ve, would’ve could’ves”…but I happy to know that my reflections are appreciated and helpful to others.
They may just be offering some additional perspective. Sometimes that helps.
I think you’re spot on in your comment except your first sentence “Why do older people consider themselves wiser and smarter?”
you’ve made a blanket statement that ALL older people consider themselves wise. That’s not true. Some do, some don’t. I think a true wise person will be wise enough to know they don’t have the answers to life. The older I get the more I realize I don’t know Jack-shit. I type some garbage here, as I’m doing now, but you’d be a fool to follow anything anybody says..young or old. Only you have the answers to your life. People can point a direction, but you have to walk the walk. No one else.
Randall: How’d you get your thoughts into this public forum? OK–don’t shoot me. (I should rethink that request.) There’s a lot you know, and a tremendous amount of it is cumulative. Addition, multiplication, expressing complex repeating sequences… There are things we can learn, like how to type, and things we persistently believe in which may exist only in our minds, like the idea of love. It seems to me we can take the former for granted because we do ultimately learn them–which, speaking to Kira’s question, may be a reason older individuals perceive it takes time to learn and acquire valuable knowledge. But if we want to feel loved, or hope for a sage and just government… those ideas don’t ever have to materialize, lending credence to a model of human ignorance. And I’m not great fan of humanity. Do you have a different perspective?
Kira, first, I’m sorry you’re hurting. Truly. On your question why older people say what they do, I was hesitant to comment as we can only learn from experiences if we live them. What’s there to say until we have them? Only words. But everyone should feel his/her opinions, feelings, and perspectives are respected and listened to sincerely and intently. I’m sorry if others haven’t offered you this–you certainly deserve it.
On the other matter–judging when it’s time to retire, there’s a catch-22 according to what I just wrote. We can’t know the future because we haven’t lived it. But we might have very accurate images of what it will be–like Secondlife said. You are both right, I feel. If I could go back to my freshman year in college, I’d end it without hesitation because nothing I could have done–career choices, relationships, country of residence…–would have had a significant impact on how I feel, because how I feel results from the way I (don’t) fit in with any group–and that is not something I was ever likely to change. I mean to say that you are right that some things, some failures or problems, are so fundamental that the myriad decisions we make getting from then to now don’t change the outcome enough to matter to us.
Every legal adult should have the right to decide for her- or himself both what her/his future is likely to be, and whether it is worthwhile getting there.
Older people are neither wiser nor smarter. They’re simply stronger in their attitudes.
Think of a tree. A young tree is flexible, malleable, can be shaped, transplanted or even grafted. A 100 year old oak? It’s stuck where it is, how it is and whom it is.
Another analogy is a computer. Your 10 year old Dell desktop might have a lot of files stored on its hard drive, but that’s precisely what slows it down, gums it up and makes it perform like crap. Wouldn’t a brand new MacBook with a clean hard drive perform so much better and be, in fact, “smarter”?
I’ve learned to despise old age and crave the flexibility of youth. Speaking as an old person, may I be the first to admit that “wisdom” is overrated. I don’t just wish I had my young body back, I wish I had my young soul.
I wanted to add, on the subject of suicide, NOBODY knows what happens when you die. So a 17-year-old person is just as much of an authority on death as a 77-year-old. Whether suicide is the right choice for someone who is suffering is entirely subjective, and nobody, regardless of age, should tell you they know your fate better than you do. With that in mind, I do hope you choose to live a little longer and kick some ass. But if you decide not to, I’ll never be so arrogant to tell you you’re wrong. And don’t listen to anyone who does tell you that.
I will tell you the truth. In most cases people do become wiser as they get older because they have been through this and been through that and you accumulate knowledge and experience and wisdom as you go. Trust me, in 20 years from now you will see life from a whole different perspective. But even though you are young that does not make you stupid and dont let any older people push you around just because your young. Find a positive path and follow it.