Reddit, what's become clear to you as you've gotten older?

1. If you can learn to come to terms with who you are and be happy with that then everything becomes easier. Basically, stop beating yourself up. In the (probably misquoted) words of Homer Simpson "don't keep blaming yourself, blame yourself once and move on"
   — Pm_me_coffee_


2. The ease it takes to get "injured" and the length it takes to heal.
   — thgilf


3. Nobody pays as much attention to what you are doing or how you look as you seem to think. Look kinda bloated today? Nobody gives a shit. Forgot something in your car and has to turn around in the parking lot? Literally, zero random fucks were given.
   — OG_Mrs_B






4. You have short term friends and long term friends, and both are perfectly fine.
   — DarkangelUK


5. You start to like school holidays because there's less traffic on your way to work EDIT: actually read the question as comething like "What makes it become clear that you've gotten older?". Still relevant tho
   — BookerTheWitt


6. You still feel young on the inside. You look at people the same age as yourself and think 'F**k they look old' and then realize you are the same age!
   — Lightfairy






7. I'm really not very old, but I have been younger than I am now, and something I wish I hadn't done was inadvertently train myself to be a very low effort, poor work ethic sort of person when I was a kid. I blew a lot of opportunities by putting the minimum amount of effort necessary to get everyone off my back, and now I legitimately have a hard time doing anything I don't want to do. On a systemic level. Addictive personality, poor willpower, and a slacker's attitude exacerbated by depressive spells that eat up a large portion of the free time I have. Edit: I'm seeing a lot of fellow "Smart kids", my heart goes out to you. That was basically my entire schooling experience. Also, a lot of references to ADD. I've wondered about it in the past, but I was always taught growing up that it was way overdiagnosed. I think back then my mum was worried I'd get turned into a zombie, and now I'm worried that if I do go in and they decide to dope me up, it'll destroy my focus once and for all by allowing a chemical substitute.
   — PiousKnyte


8. An *astonishing* amount of people will try to spend their lives coasting on the potential they had as kids/teenagers/young adults. 'Potential' is toxic, once you get past a certain point. It lets you forgive yourself for not actually turning up and putting the hard yards in, because you know you *could*, so why actually bother? That's why novels go unwritten and canvases remain blank.
   — Portarossa


9. My parents aren't really perfect and made a lot of mistakes
   — rainbowvomit96






10. The human body is a lot more fragile than it seemed when I was a kid. I shudder at the thought of how close some childhood pranks, games, and 'fun' activities really went to permanently injuring myself, others, or something even worse.
    — docdeek