anxious about time

[Elsa.G]

in may i am going to be 23 yrs old, i dont know if im exaggerating but i cant help and feel anxious about turning 23. I feel old already and i know im not but im not really in a hurry to "grow up" so to speak. I am a responsible person though, i work and i pay my own bills, i buy my own things, have my own car... all of that stuff yet i have people nagging to me because i dont "act" grown up in their eyes. As a female i love to shop, i spend my extra cash on stuff i like.. i still like goth clothes, twilight and comic books and i buy the things i like but i constantly have family member's and other people tell me to grow up and act my age. I still remember when i was 16 it wasnt that long ago and i dont feel like tossing out all my clothing and replacing it with business suits and heels or never touching another video game because im 23 and it's time to grow up. I want your opinions am i really doing wrong by acting like the young woman i am or is my family right? im not in a hurry to be old, i still love dressing up how i like, dying my hair weird colors and using a hello kitty purse. Am i really doing wrong?

[Asfsd4214]

My advice...

You only live once, once you die, who knows what happens, but right now is now.

Live your life the way you want too, because not only will you die... you COULD die right now. It's inevitable and could be sooner than you think.

I'd rather live till 30 and know I did the things I wanted to do than live to 90 filled with regret and missed chances.

[kelly_aus]

Getting old is compulsory.. Growing up is not..

[spacial]

If I can add. People call you immature because it hurts you. It's just a classic insult. When you react they know it's still hurting you.

Think about it, what is immaturity? The emotional immaturity they are referring to is limited experience. This is demonstrated by the maturity that some quite young children show who have been through bad experiences.

If you lack experiences, then I fail to see how that can be a reason to criticise.

I have a feeling that those who are saying this to you are also critical, however subtly, of aspects of your lifestyle or attitudes, perhaps even your aspirations. So what they are actually saying is, they know how to live your life better than you do.

How immature is that?

[Rabbit]

Every year I feel like I am getting so old... and every time I look back I see I was really so young.

[pretty]

Well, as for what you SHOULD do, it's probably the silliest thing ever to make yourself sad in order to please someone else because if they got mad at you it might make you sad.

On the other hand, I would be a hypocrite if I said it's easy not to do that because I am a person that really struggles with letting people walk all over me and tell me who I can or can't be 

I wanna be young forever though 

[Torn1990]

Yes, please always just be yourself. Your happiness matters.
Good point, Rabbit.

[Catherine Sarah]

Hi Elsa,

To live your life according to your perceptions and feelings is GROWN UP. Which you clearly demonstrate. To live your life according to someone elses perception of "grown up" is certainly not, grown up. It reflects an immaturity in character.
A definition of impossible is to live a life of someone else. A simple application of physics will tell you, they are not you.
Sure you can listen to what other people have to say, but at the end of the conversation you can always acknowledge, "thanks, but that's not me." If they are mature enough, they should understand.

Be safe, well and happy
Lotsa huggs
Catherine

[shortNsweet]

You will regret it if you try to "grow up" too fast. You have to do what matters to you. I'm 24 and I don't want to just turn in my life and be boring until I die.