I freaked out. My youth was very important to me, realized I only had one shot at it, was determined to party down and use it, appreciate it. And I did just that. 30 sounded impossibly old at 21.

Friend took me to the titty bar and asked all the dancers how old they thought I was. Anywhere from 21-24 was the guess range. Neat! Gone to the clubs every decade since. At 40, about passed out we left, gf had to almost carry me to the car. 50 saw me with another gf who pointed out the girl most my type eyeing me. She came and sat with us and we had a blast. Strip clubs are a very different experience when you bring a date! Can’t see my current wife allowing that when I hit 60. :( She mad jealous and a room full of nearly naked, hot young bodies would drive her to a frenzy.

Anyway, yes! I felt youth was officially over, exactly as you! Didn’t feel like I was a real man until 30 when I was a cable guy, doing “man” work for once. And I did grow up quite a bit in those couple of years.

Looking back, nah, “young” isn’t over till 40. Even at 50 I was having the time of my life and mature enough to navigate it. Don’t get fat, or lose what ya got, keep active, your body will be just fine unless you hit some really bad luck. Another weird thing, if you’re a man, you’ll likely get far more handsome, even into your 50s. For women, I dunno, they have a certain je ne sais quoi as they age. Maybe it’s poise and class and wisdom all rolled up? Women in their 40s, if they didn’t let themselves OK, are probably peak sexy. Really! My wife’s 54 and mostly has the body of a 20-something. Asian genes, maybe that’s cheating. :)