Cause as you get older, you realize that a lot of the hype about people being "old" is manufactured. I'm closing in on 30 and I'm squarely in a zone I thought was "old" when I was 18. But I feel like I still have my whole life ahead of me. And despite a lot of fear mongering, I still feel healthy and ready for anything.

And although I definitely feel like 45 is pretty old, I know that when my parents were that age they were scoffing and telling me "45 is not that old". I'm sure when I'm 60 I'll be looking at retirement and think about how it's actually not too bad to be 60 and it's the 80 year olds that are really old.

With one parent who turned 80 this year and the second in their late 70s, I’ve realized there’s a difference between “elderly” and “old.” A lot of people equate the two. I think “old” always started in one’s 70s to me, even as a kid. “Elderly,” however, is not based on a number but on a physical state of being.

My dad is elderly. He’s frail and struggling to move around much. It’s hard to watch and it’s been going on and worsening for a few years now. My mom, despite being only 3 years younger, is not at all elderly. She has more energy and vivacity than many people over 20 years her junior (hell I’m in my 30s and she can do loops around me, but I got the chronic illness genes that she didn’t have). Technically, she’s old. But no one who knows her would think of her as “elderly.”

Yeah sure, everybody has different definitions and all but calling 70 year olds as young is straight up lunatic.

When I started using dating apps I found 24 year olds too old. I still have that impression memorized but it's wild.