Is it normal to feel mentally older than you are?
I guess I should start by saying that I am 20 years old. And the past two years have really been a change in lifestyle for me. I graduated high school last year, and, at the time, by my own admission was a petty, immature, little girl. And I was a complete mess, social anxiety, depression, lost most of my friends from high school. Then about a month later that summer I had surgery. I didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal, it turned out to be an incredibly painful and lengthy recovery. It forced me to not only deal with the physical pain but to confront a lot of the other issues I had going on besides that. It began a process of really maturing me in a way that my teenage years hadn't. It wasn't all instant, and not all because of the surgery, a lot happened in the next year that really forced me to re-examine who I was, and who I wanted to be. But I'm here a year later, a lot better than I could have expected at the time. Even though I still don't know what I want to major in and am still going to community college, at least now I have a pretty good job, the guilt of not being able to find work was really eating away at me, where I am relatively respected and taken seriously. I've shed a lot of my bad habits, I speak better, I dress better, I'm always on time. I actually kind of like who I am now, that self hatred kept me down for years. But I think all of this has made me feel older than I am, I think of other people around my age as kids. On one hand, I see them as relatively carefree, but also very petty and very shallow, a lot of the time. I know I'm likely in a very early chapter in my life yet I find myself always being very introspective and reflective on the past. I've withdrawn from people for the most part, into my music and reading. Its working out relatively alright for me but I wonder if its normal for someone my age like me?
Why do I act older than I really am?
hey, it is who you are embrace it and try and find friends in people that can appreciate and (for a lack of better word) understand you. I am 24 my husband is 22 and he was like you and still is. i laugh at him because he is so much "older" than me. He developed friends with his 3rd grad teacher and they still talk and hang out today as equals. most of his friends are older than him and he always dated older women (although i do not recommend that you start dating old men). He married me and im older than him in age and i know that he would have probably been with someone older if we didn't fall in love. also friends that were not on his level he learned to relate to and became more of a Mentor to then best friends. so i would say try and relate to your peers as best to your ability and if you hang with parents and adults as long as they are ok with it and you are respectful and correct boundaries are up then thats ok. learn what you can learn. I thought it was weird when my husband told me that in third grade his teacher told her all her buisness and he advised her. and everyone connected with him was older and told me that he was always like and older man his voice was even deep. And ive learn that is who he is and this is who you are and thats GREAT :D