Millennials Revealed The Exact Moment They Realized They Weren't "Young" Anymore, And Um, I Need To Sit Down After This
We recently wrote a post where millennials shared the exact moment they realized they weren't "young" anymore. In the comments even more millennials chimed in, and it gets SO real, so fast. Here's what they had to say:
1."I'm 27 and haven't encountered too many times where I 'feel old,' but at the elementary school I'm working at, some of the rooms have the big, thick Scholastic dictionaries and thesauruses that we used in class — that does give me that feeling a bit because I vividly remember using them. Only a few classes have them, but none of the kids know how to use them."
"Or when the fourth graders ask what we had before the Smart TVs. Also, the state testing I grew up doing in books and Scantrons is now on the computer. Reminiscing on THOSE times of having to fill in the Scantron bubble perfectly doesn't make me feel old, but it does make me think of how much times have changed."
2."The other day when I was in the car, and Blink-182 came on the radio, so I was blasting it ('First Date,' so who wouldn't); I told my mom I hadn't heard that on the radio in a little bit, and she just kinda laughed and told me we were listening to her station...the oldies station."
"The radio station that used to play 'oldies music' is now playing music I listened to in the '90s, '00s, and '10s. My daughter (11) calls it music from 'back in the day.'"
3."When I got carded, the waitress looked at it for two seconds and handed it back. I asked why so quickly, and she replied, 'Because it starts with "19"' 😭."
4."For me, it's when I look at the back of football and baseball cards, and the athletes are born in the early 2000s. When I was a kid, famous athletes were born in the 1960s."
"I was born in 1981, so I'm the oldest a millennial can be. As a football fan, I realized I was officially old when the new rookies being drafted weren't even born when I graduated high school. Now, I'm literally cheering for players who are young enough to be my children."
5."I'm an esthetician, and I was giving a facial to a teenage girl. I was removing her makeup and told her I was being extra thorough so she didn't walk out looking like Avril Lavigne, and she said, 'Who's that?'"
6."I've had two 'omfg I'm old' moments. The first was when I saw a Spice Girls video on VHS CLASSICS. The other one was when a 20-year-old tried to hit on me, but he had to make sure I was 18. I felt ancient when I had to tell the guy I was in my 30s. The look on his face 💀."
7."I was talking to one of my college student employees and said how I used to borrow CDs from the library so I could 'burn' them. He was so baffled that he thought I was checking out CDs I disliked and literally burning them with fire. He was even more confused when I explained that I was copying them to my computer to add to my iPod (4th gen, when they introduced the click wheel)."
8."When you have the 'sir moment.' It's when any younger person calls you 'sir.' It ages you very quickly, like you've suddenly had your hair turn grey and your reading glasses are on a cord around your neck."
9."My students laugh at me because I say 'telephone' instead of 'phone.' Yes, I realize that a cellphone differs from a telephone, but I did not grow up with cell phones. It's just how it comes out now…"
10."I generally feel old when people I knew as babies are now grown up with their own families. I've known my best friend for almost 50 years — we grew up together — so I know her whole family."
"Her parents recently passed away, and seeing her nieces and nephews married with their own kids makes me feel ancient."
11."I used to follow fashion trends intuitively; it was so easy because I was a part of the young, arty demographic who was setting trends. At one point, I noticed no one in my neighborhood (I lived in a super trendy neighborhood at the time) was wearing skinny jeans. It had happened for a while, and I hadn't noticed. Then, I had to actively put down the skinny jeans instead of feeling intuitive. That was weird, and now, fashion has been weird for me ever since because I want to look cool, but I also don't want to look like I'm trying hard."
"And now I second guess more what I'm wearing. When I was young, we were the ones who set the trends! Definitely, that was the moment."
12."I make loans for a living, and watching the DOBs of 18-year-olds get closer and closer in my brain is the real killer. I've also explained a cassette tape to my youth group at church. My oldest will get a car and a license next month. I could go on."
13."I was born in '81. When my kids were about 6, they asked if I had color TV growing up 🤦♀️."
14."My therapist is younger than me."
15."I'm 26 and was talking to a 19-year-old who suggested this movie, but it was so 'old.' The movie was Cats & Dogs (2001)."
16."People always make that cringey 'Call me [X], Mr. [Y] is my father' joke, but the first time someone ever actually called me 'Mr. [Last Name],' I actually TURNED AROUND TO LOOK FOR MY DAD. I still shudder about that."
"Anyway, the guy who first called me that had passed away two years ago. And if THAT doesn't make you feel old..."
17."I feel old when my doctors are younger than me. Or, you see drivers or airline pilots who don't look like they've graduated high school. I know they're fully trained and qualified, but it's wild to me that these young people have these jobs since I always think of them as 11-year-olds."
18."I have tattoos older than some (many) of my coworkers."
19."Every time I hear a kid refer to music from the '90s as classic. I grew up hearing it on the radio. My Gen Z coworker told me he learned about 9/11 in history class; he wasn't born when it happened. I was in eighth grade when it happened. My 'hang up the phone' motion is to put the phone back in the cradle; my stepkids push a button. That was a hard one, for some reason 😂."
20."I'm a 38-year-old Millenial here. Weirdly, the first time I truly felt like an adult was the release of Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens (2015). To add context, my mother had introduced me to Star Wars at a young age, and the 1997 remaster of the original trilogy (with new computer-generated footage!) was released, and it was a big deal for 11-year-old me. I distinctly remember at the time thinking, 'Maybe when I'm a grownup, there'll be an Episode VII set after Return of the Jedi!'"
"And there I was, watching The Force Awakens in the theater on my 30th birthday. There's older Leia, Han, and Luke, and I'm like, 'Yep! I'm officially a grown-up now!'"
And finally...
21."Let me add a positive swing to the aging thing: It was when I realized I wasn't dressing to impress others anymore — I was dressing to make myself happy. When I realized I was finally starting to like myself. When I realized I was okay with telling people 'no' without worrying that I was going to upset them."
"When I realized I could recognize red flags in people that I never noticed before and use it to gently guide someone younger who hopefully will make better choices than I did at that age."
Fellow millennials, what was the exact moment you realized you weren't "young" anymore? Let us know in the comments below. Or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, feel free to use this Google form.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
