21 Years As Willdridge

Sure this won't interest anyone, but thought I'd drop a line and (hopefully) start an interesting/random discussion...

So today (well, technically at the time of writing yesterday, but given I've not yet gone to bed I consider it the same day) I turned 21. I can now legally drink in most countries across the world, as well as being able to feel like a fully fledged adult in front of my parents. In my head, I'm still sixteen and pretty much living exactly the same lifestyle...

So, onto the topic(s) of discussion...

What was the last age change? I'm not talking about the numerical value of your last birthday, but that last time you felt you'd aged.

Secondly, regardless of your last age change, what do you think you've learnt in the last twelve months?

Between 20 and 21, I think the most important thing I've realised (not necessily learnt, but realised) is anything is possible - no matter what you think the odds of it happening are. If you're prepared to put the effort in, you can achieve anything, from learning that guitar riff to getting over any demons that might've haunted you for years - it's just a matter of how you view it.

Feel free to be as serious/random/comical as you want. I'll just leave you with this thought...

"21?! 21 was always something that happened to other people...when the hell did that happen?!"

ok, it was 20 man...
i remeber it was my birthday, n i was totally confused...
in here its legal to drink if ur older than 18...
u know it was not about the "adult" thing. it was more like "another finished decade of my life"...

actually all the thing is an illusion, 19 or 21 theres no difference. but i was feelin like "look im just 19 man"...

now im 22 n tryin to figure out "its not too late for do smthin in my life"...

[QUOTE=redspecial]"look im just 19 man"...QUOTE]

As far as I'm concerned, I'm 20 and 365-days, it didn't suddenly happen. Sometime though y'just think, "What did I do with that time? I could've been that metal-god by now if I'd just put the effort in".

Saying that though, it's not too late, is it?...Maybe I should make that part of my five year plan? "Buy a house; get a dog; play Wembley to thousands"...hmmm., I like that! :)

I think for me it was 39. I had lost my girlfriend and my job; I had quarrelled with, and thrown out, my room-mate; there was a serious recession here in Canada (1991), and I was spiraling deeper into debt every week.

Happy frickin' Birthday, indeed. I went into therapy, but it took a while to climb out of that hole.

40 was 'same old, same old'.

Even 50 was marked more by friends and colleagues than myself.

I think it comes down to what's happening in your life at the time. The calendar has bugger-all to do with it. I turn 54 this fall, and by then I hope to be embarqued on a new career in a different line of work. External change happens regardless of what you do, or don't do, inside. If the person you are at the time is ill-suited to your circumstances, you will have to make some changes, else some changes will be imposed on you by your surroundings.

Its up to you.

Either way you get older, or you die.

Happy Birthday bud! :)

Hmm...I'm only almost 17, but I'm kind of going through one right now. I have to decide what im going to do with my life. How am i going to pay for school, how will i get into school will i find the right person?

I don't know...it's been a pretty depressing year.

There's also every time you realize you can't do something as well as you thought you could, fall on your ass and make a fool of yourself. meh... enjoy your birthday.

Originally Posted by: ericthecableguyThere's also every time you realize you can't do something as well as you thought you could, fall on your ass and make a fool of yourself.

'Failure is not the falling down, but the staying down' - I really can't remember where I read that, but I always thought I was true.

17 was always an odd age I thought - old enough to know your own mind, but young enough to be nieve (I don't mean that to be offensive, but - ("suddenly a cliche happened") - I think you'll understand "as you get older", :rolleyes: )

Part of me wishes I was back there again, on the cusp of brillance; part of me's glad I lived through all the downs to reach 21. I guess you've gotta take the rough with the smooth.

It's not easy, but try and always look on the bright side - if it's been a depressing year, things can only get better, right?

Thanks for the happy b-day bud, much appreciated.

Will -- I know you've been a member here forever, but you should hang around more often. You seem like my kind of person. Happy birthday, man.

As for the age stuff, I'm with Eric completely. I just turned 17 about a week ago, and it's screwing with my head. I think I mentioned in some long-ago thread how I have trouble envisioning my future. Well, it's getting to that point where my future is just about ready to collide with me, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it. I still think of myself as just a kid, and yet this time next year, I'll more than likely be packing up and moving out to live alone somewhere.

Absolutely terrifying.

this year... has definitely been the most decisive year ever...

turned 22 in april, the last 3 months have had the most radical personal change ever in my life.. my girlfriend, the love of my life, dumped me which really shook me up
I realised that I've been a wreck for most of my life, suddenly in 3 months time it had become all clear to me
talked a lot with my parents, for the first time we ever became that intimate, heard stuff which explained a lot, it's scary hearing that as a kid, you were always drawing everything black.. and I'm actually a real cheerfull person inside
simply put, I've came to know almost every reason why I've been so depressed most of my life, I say 'almost' cause there will always be new things

experiencing such clarity, hitting you rock hard in your face, really changes you, I never want to be that person again that was afraid of life and everything life had to offer

now things almost couldn't be better, my study is going great, I'm thinking positive, found my ambition and enjoying life, though it came with a high prize.. I miss her everyday and it makes me real sad knowing that there's little chance I'll ever be with her again, cause she believes people can't change this fast, it would take years and she still sees me like the selfish/rude wreck I was in those last years together with her, she's very special and has a lot of needs, so as I expect she probably also has a boyfriend again to fill those needs.. we don't have contact anymore since 4 weeks, she doesn't want it, allthough the reasons are unknown to me, it's also too painfull for me
it's tough knowing that you can give so much, even more then she could ask for, without any effort and that things would be great, but that she's just too scared to try again and rather go the easy way, when she makes a choice.. it's forever :(

kind of a long post, hope I didn't bore you with it, it's just a serious issue to me, thinking about her makes me sad, actually the only thing that makes me sad nowadays, I cherish the memories but still... think most of you know exactly how it feels, even if everything is going incredibly well

so yeah, this year has been...interesting, but worth it, I've learned so much that, if I'm gonna post it this post will be tripled! one of the best things I say to myself everyday is: 'keep your eyes open and talk to people, keep an open mind to anything you come across, only then will you be able to learn and choose wise'

at last, a happy birthday to you Wildridge :)

Greetings from the Netherlands,
Roel

This is a very interesting thread... Happy Birthday Willdridge... and to continue with tradition.. a birthday kiss for you.. X :p

I too just recently had a birthday... and it put me smack dab right in the middle of my 30's... For me I guess the real change began when i turned 29... I started to realize the mistakes that I had made with my life, and how stubborn I was to not listen to anyone around me that I was making them. I started to begin to want to live for me, and not everyone else in my life...

So the first part of my thirties were very unhappy, trying to figure out what it was I really wanted, and if what I wanted was even realistic. In the process my marriage fell apart, which wasn't much of a marriage to begin with.. and if I wasn't a wife then what was I?

So I ended my marriage, and pursued the real me... and once I let go of what I thought people expected of me and just became the real me... I got alot happier... I learned to drive a motorcycle, and wanted to bring music back into my life, so I started to learn guitar.. and then I joined GT... and I met some really incredible people, which are now great friends, including the love of my life, and for once I am so looking forward to living and enjoying the present and future.

So whether you are 15, 25, 35, 45, or 55... I think ultimately everyone is the same.. we all want to live our lives as happily as we can... just as you get older you have learned more, because you have made more mistakes...lol

happy birthday dude

as forme this yr seemed to be a big change....gone overseas for studies and everything.....independence is important here.....so yeah

*Wieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh* :p

Did I just kill this thread with my long serious post?

*Wieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh* :p:p

I turned 20 recently and it was quite a shock.

I took a gap year after school, and so alot of the guys I study with at university are a year younger than me...except my mate Tim, who went to school a year early and is two years younger than me (well, a year and a half, but since I am 20, and he is 18, two years is good for all intents and purposes).

I realised summin the other day, whilst Tim and I were lying on the grass at uni with a bunch of folks..."I am twenty, he's 18, so in every 20 minutes of my life, there are two minutes in which he hasn't even bee born...if you get my meaning"...


I feel old :(

Originally Posted by: Andrew Sa...I feel old :(

Yeah.. that gets worse when you see people on Forums who are almost ten years younger than you saying they feel old... :D

I'm 29, so am currently staring down the barrel of my next birthday...

I'm 22 and I definitely don't feel old anymore, there are times I wished I could do my childhood over again, but I'm very pleased with the way I turned out to be

The twists and turns and boulders in my road of life are sharp and gigantic (respectively). I don't have the fortitude to go into it here but some of my GT friends may hear my life's story someday.

Happy 21st!

My grey is already coming in more and more. Not that I really care though...I like getting older. I think time will definitely fly by if you let it, so you gotta use it. And one fairly recent change in perspective was mine on work ethic. I've always considered myself a hard worker in any job I've had, but still felt kinda like I was working more for the benefit of the particular company rather than myself...leaving a feeling that I was deserving of more. Now I just see it more as if I want to make more, have whatever time off, or get more educated/trained, it's up to me to arrange this. It's purely fair that a company can offer whatever it wants for it's jobs, and if we don't like it, then it's up to us to make ourselves qualified for or achieve whatever we do want.

Originally Posted by: R. Shackleferd.... And one fairly recent change in perspective was mine on work ethic. I've always considered myself a hard worker in any job I've had, but still felt kinda like I was working more for the benefit of the particular company rather than myself...leaving a feeling that I was deserving of more. Now I just see it more as if I want to make more, have whatever time off, or get more educated/trained, it's up to me to arrange this. It's purely fair that a company can offer whatever it wants for it's jobs, and if we don't like it, then it's up to us to make ourselves qualified for or achieve whatever we do want.

Yes! I'm reluctantly facing the fact that I have spent the last 6 years carrying a business for an owner who does not value the people that make his fortune for him. I'm outta here! :p

As my father sometimes laments: "We are too soon old and too late wise."

Good point Rustee on the work ethic thing. I've been working 10-12 hour days at my neighbors helping (with the assistance of some pros) a 78 foot machinery shed/wood shop/car garage/apartment building. It's been incredibly hard work and im loving it, it's not even about the money for me anymore (though it's still great ;) ). I've definately matured in that way over these last few weeks.

Hey guys - just to let you know I'm still here, had a bit of an eventful week travelling and getting five stitches in my eyebrow, (something I've learnt since turning 21 is running is hazadous to your health - long story, will explain another time...). I haven't had a chance to read all the posts yet, but I will - thanks for the happy birthdays and responses.