Birthdays Are Starting To Suck: How To Cope With Getting Older

I turn 23 this year, no biggie right? What’s 23 in the grand scheme of things? Well, after 21, it feels like it’s all downhill. The next big birthday celebration is 30, and frankly, I cringe just thinking about the day I’ll leave my 20’s behind.

But birthdays really don’t have to suck. We’re adults now, but that doesn’t mean birthdays can’t be as awesome as our old McDonalds parties, or the drinking fests of our teens. That’s why we’ve put together the top 5 ways to cope with getting older (or better).

1. Focus on your life, not your age

We get so caught up in thinking each birthday that passes is bringing us closer to our inevitable coffin, or an extra couple of grey hairs and wrinkles, we forget that age is just a number. There are plenty of 60-year-olds out there with as much life in them as a 20-something, so why are we so caught up on our biological clock?

When you turn 21 people class you as an adult, but it’s not really until a few years after that you truly morph from a reckless teen into full-fledged adulthood. Before you know it, good things are starting to happen. You start leave school and start a career, you finally gain that elusive independence that allows you to move out of home and make your own rules. Being 20 may have been great, but it’s really just a rest stop on your way to becoming truly awesome.

2. Remember that good things start to happen as you age

You get your own home, you fall in love (for real), suddenly marriage and kids is a real thing, and not just something you see in movies. You might start partying less but coffee dates with your girlfriends can be just as fun, not to mention dinner parties with your besties are actually the best. Age brings with it the parts of life that used to be unreachable, and all of a sudden, no box in the cupboard is too high.

3. With age comes maturity (Most of the time)

A funny thing happens when you get older — all those ‘cool’ kids you used to envy, are now just annoying. You start rolling your eyes at teens playing the penis game and wondering how you ever used to spend an entire day hanging around the shops without actually buying anything.

You think twice about stuffing your face with 100 percent junk, because come on, who wants early onset diabetes. You realize your body is literally your temple, that being in bed at 9pm is a good thing (at least some of the time), and that being a responsible adult really does have its perks. Life doesn’t completely suck… like at all.

4. Your priorities will start to shift

You quickly learn once you’re all grown up that you’ve spent the last 20 odd years putting up with some serious crap. When you’re older and more mature, you learn who your real friends are. You learn to ditch the bitchiness and toxic relationships and feel a helluva lot better for it.

The gym ideally becomes a part of your lifestyle, saving for a house is more important than losing your week’s pay on alcohol, or party dresses you really don’t need.

Why? Because your not 18 anymore, real life swoops in and takes over, the quicker you accept this, the better the ride will be.

5. Better, not older

I’ve come to realize that turning 23 means I’ve got 23 years of life to learn from. I finally have no more homework, a job I actually want to be doing, and a world of possibilities I never knew existed. I’m not getting older with every year that passes; I’m becoming a better person, more well-rounded person; and what’s not to love about that?