the "fun" years

this is somewhat related to something that came up in the last chat day.

Ok so, between your highschool years and college or say 25 are supposedly the "fun years". These years are the ones that people are supossedly enjoying the final part of growing up, having and going to parties, getting drunk or whatever the case may be before after college or 25 when we're expected to grow up and put these sort of things behind us.

So the question is, how many of us actually enjoyed these "fun years" weather your still in the 14-25 area or well past it, were these years what we've been conditioned to think they were? If you're over that 25 "age limit" are you still having a "fun time" or did everyhting change at 25?






this could be interesting

I would say that they were carefree to say the least.
There was no worries back then. Didn't have to worry about stinky jobs and paying bills.
The money I made back then went straight to Cd's, DVD's and books.
It was a great feeling walking into the record store and walking out with 5 Cd's Or going into the book store and buying 12 books at a single time.
There was the occasional house party that was always fun. I was never totally wasted but had fun watching my friends make fools of themselves. They wouldn't remember a single thing and I would remember everything haha.
I wouldn't say everything changed at 25 but they definitely changed in the early 20's.
They all decided to have kids and get married. And now there are far few house parties.
But then again, I'm not really much for partying. It's hard to find time with the people that I am still close to. I did enjoy those years but I'm hoping the best years are still to come. Not to say that things are sucky now. I have an amazing boyfriend who makes things so much better. It kinda sucks growing up.

My high school years weren't as fun as they should have been. They were fun 1/2 the time, and the other 1/2 I was dealing with Mom's addictions and their repercussions. So I kind of had to grow up fast.

College was *amazing*. Having command over my own time, making what are turning out to be lifelong friends, slaking the thirst for knowledge, testing my limits. As it happens, I met my future husband there too.

The years since then... also could have been more fun. But they've still been amazing fun on a personal level. My friends are having kids and settling down, but I'd rather not go that route... still making up for a little lost fun. And the Fella is just a big kid himself, so he encourages the fun, even when I'm being more serious. Which I still tend to be, and need to be.

It's not so much the good times end as it is you want more for yourself as you get older.

True. And then there are the bills. I can relate to Moon's nostalgia for days when she could just shop without worrying about covering other expenses.

I turned 30 in October, and I can honestly say I'm having more fun now than ever before. The thing is now I have the money to go out and do all the stuff I really want to do. And I don't have any kids, so that makes things easier. LOL I go to fine restaurants with the hubby and friends, we go out to the theater a few times a year, etc. Also, being a little older makes me mature enough to appreciate a lot of things I wouldn't have cared about as a kid.

My 14-25 were pretty boring in comparison.

^props!

I turned 26 last August 27th, when I awoke to a horrible world devoid of color and joy. Since then I've been more miserable with each passing day...

NOT.

I'm bipolar so sometimes things are rough for me, but I loved my late teens and early 20s. Road trips, jello shots, not caring how many calories are in pizza...

But i kinda like being more self-actualized than I was then. I've gone from awkward, self conscious mall-goth to "yeah, I am going to wear blackish-purple lipstick at 9 on a tuesday because it makes me feel pretty, dammit!"

^^ Awesome! Yeah, I think it does get easier to wave one's personal freak flag as the years go by.

Weelll, from 15-maybe 18 and a half-ish, it was nothing but sexsexsexdrinkingdrinkingsmokingsmokingpartiespartiesparties. So, I guess, I've enjoyed them, sure.

Now, I'm 20 *LOL* and such a hermit. I was pretty much wasted throughout my teen years and went out only to get wasted and sex it up. Now, I just want to drink and sex it up with my boy.

Sure, it was fun as hell going out, but now I actually want to go out and do stuff, enjoy the little free time I have, go into a steady relationship, finish college, settle down, travel, and just....enjoy myself. So, I doubt the "fun years" ever stop existing. "Fun" is defined differently for each person.

highschool was fun but it could have been better, there was a lot of crap that happened there but the weekends were full of hanging out at the malls, parties and general hanging out with friends. Same thing could be said for the space between highschool and 21, part way through 21 life went to sh*t real fast and by 22 my mother and I lived in an area we call "little baroot" (rest of the city calls it the cresent). I wont fill in the 22-25 but there was some real life lesson type stuff in there and a lot I'd never want to go through again but things definetly turned around shortly after turning 25 things have been good since then, I don't think I could re live the "fun years" even though I might if I could they just kind of seem like I got cheated a bit... 29 now and cant wait to see whats coming

I hated high school. I blame teen angst, but it had its fair share of outside influences. I love college, and I like to go out drinking once in a while, but I'm responsible about it. I used to go out drinking with a 29 year old friend but he went back to Australia in January. I certainly hope I still have the good aspects of my life as it is now after I'm 25.

RedAngel wrote:

^^ Awesome! Yeah, I think it does get easier to wave one's personal freak flag as the years go by.

I'll be 41 in May and I'm having the best years of my life! I've got the confidence now that I lacked in my 20s. I like me an awful lot now.....I hated me for soooooooooo many years

I had a lot of fun in high school even though I went through a lot of personal issues. I had a great group of friends, had an amazing boyfriend who was always there for me even when I wanted to push him away & I had a lot of fun. I'm 22 & still have my amazing friends & continue to make more, am still trying to have as much fun & have had many amazing experiences as well as sh*t ones. I can only hope to continue experiencing as much as life can offer.

My high school years were my most stressful time. I had few friends and we hardly hung out outside of school. College is proving to be much better.

High school wasn't the best of times. It was definitely a big step up from life pre-high school- I finally had friends- but they were all the over-achievers who had too many other obligations to be able to hang out often.

College is, in many ways, more feast or famine than anything. At times I'll have time and money and will be able to go out with friends, but most of the time I've got no time, no money, and just end up being a hermit in my studio. It's still insanely fun though- whatever time I'm busy is usually spent busying myself with awesome things; mucking around with things in studio, going to my volunteer jobs- one of which involves working with some super-cool people on some amazing projects, and the other involves playing with cats... so I can't complain.

I really think though that despite my recent string of complaining about my shaky financial situation, the feast-or-famine aspect is the best part of my life at present. It makes the feast times all the more beautiful than they would be if they hadn't been preceded by famine. However that isn't the only great aspect of it... it gives me the thrill of the chase so to speak, as I try to finagle how to make a little money stretch a long way... ironically, I seem to eat better and have nicer things when I have less money than when I have more, since I've learned so many amazing tricks on how to get by. I have a feeling tat tis feast-or-famine lifestyle will follow me for a good while to come, and I'm more than happy to take it.


I hope that these current years are not the best of my life, but are a step towards even better things to come. With each passing year I find myself gaining more confidence, more friendships, more direction in my work and in my life, and more of the wealth and bounty that life has to offer. I can only hope that this cycle continues for the rest of my lifetime.

I loved High School once I got into the Sixth Form and the ones who didnt want to learn left school.

I've never been that fussed about being popular which is just as well really.

^congrats, Vampira!

My best years were my High School years though I didn't realize it at the time. Had some nice times after turning 21 too.

By the time I was 25, I was married and raising two step-kids.

So I'd definitely have to say that the best years of my life were between the ages 16-21.

I've never been one for parties (most "parties" were nothing but drunks. I can go to a bar and see that) so that was never my scene anyway.

I used to have loads of fun in downtown Orlando back in the day (meaning before they ruined it) and took a nostalgic trip back a few years ago.

A photographer for a studio in New York who was shooting the interior of the Bumby Exchange, was exceedingly curious about me as I walked and looked.

He said that a flicker of recognition would cross my face for just a second and then it was gone, so he finally asked me what I was doing.

We had a pleasant chat and I lamented how much the place had changed, while I waited for my friends to show up.

It was a nice trip down memory lane, but yeah...16-21...those were the years.

highschool sucked. I had to grow up superfast when I was really little and it tended to put me on a more mature level then most of my classmates, so I got along with hardly any of them. And then none of them wanted to go out anywhere, plus I was super sheltered, so that didn't help anything. But then I came up here to college and I am having the best time of my life-it's awsome! well, for the most part anyway, but everything has its down sides.

my parents told me after 21 it is all down hill. I dont think that is true. If you manage your job and money that you can make time to have fun. For me college has been a lot of work, but I always make time to go out at night and have a ton of fun

Some older people's comments are very encouraging and I hope I can still have fun no matter what age