this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2024
897 points (98.9% liked)
me_irl
4748 readers
636 users here now
All posts need to have the same title: me_irl it is allowed to use an emoji instead of the underscore _
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
35-40 You realize you've spent so much time trying to level up that you haven't done any of the fun quests and crafting you really wanted to do, so you start focusing on those.
40-45 You look around and realize you've somehow managed to accrue skills and experience and loot and feel cringingly compelled to give advice to other players who are newer to the game. "When I was your level..."
I’m on the upper end of that range and this is very true in my case. You also realize your body is no longer equipped with the right health/mana/stamina points to fully enjoy the fun quests.
I feel for you. I was so terrified of this happening that I spent my whole life until 35 basically doing all the crazy quests and collecting all the pointless loot I could.
The fact that I managed to stick the landing at 40 is basically a glitch/exploit.
Was it the right decision? Am 21, wasted a lot of that time. I fear the same thing
My man, I cannot recommend it. It worked for me out of sheer blind luck. It could have gone horribly. And I mean, it could have ended up with me on the streets, permanently, in any number of countries. It could have wound up with me in a morgue a few times 🤣
Looking back, especially in the context of how well things turned out for me, I probably wouldn’t change a thing… but it took a lot of danger and a lot of heartache and a fair whack of my dignity to get here.
Maybe that’s the cost of running hot until your 40s? There has to be a middle ground out there that I wasn’t motivated enough to find. I hope you find it.
Take some risks, but look after yourself. You’re gonna be old one day and you’ll need some left in the tank :)
Addendum: At 21 it’s impossible to say you’ve wasted any of your time. This has all been the onramp so far. It’s fine 👍🏻
When I was a teenager, I felt like 40+ was so old that your life was pretty much over and not worth living, but I've done so much self-actualization since my mid-30s that I'm still unlocking many of the things I hadn't previously thought I could do, like find a job I actually love, create stuff I'm proud of and have gotten positive feedback on, getting recognized for my skills and interests, etc. It's unfortunate that it can take a while to get around to doing some worthwhile stuff, but it's better now than later, regardless of what age you are. Thinking there wasn't much more after 40 was just a limitation of perspective on my part.
I'm ancient. When I started working, the company had a pension that would have allowed me to retire at 55 with 85% of my final salary. Many years ago, they got rid of the pension program (I'll still get something, but far, far less).
When I turned 55, I was initially pissed off about that. Then I realized that I likely still had 30 years or more to live. That's a really long time, and it hadn't really occurred to me before.
988 suicide hotline... You're probably just joking, but just in case
I don't not want it... When's your 35th birthday?
Feel free to DM me... Or do call 988... Whatever is troubling you, there's help available. Don't take yourself out before you get to do the the fun side quests!
If you've only got a year left, do some wild stuff different from your current life, experience all the things you won't be able to experience after. Do all the things that you'd say no to like traveling cheaply/hitchhiking/walking, falling in love carelessly, speaking freely, and even starving, and disappointing people.
There are no experiences once you opt out, so, yolo it unironically.
Potentially at some point you think it's still worthwhile living, but, if not, at least you experienced as much as you could.
The sky's the limit, most people don't do things because of their long term effects and chance for death and harm - if you don't have that limit - use it to your advantage
Well, alright... I hope you're not suffering... Best of luck to you
I'm just unga-bunga my way through in the 40-45 range. Sometimes I'll try crazy shit just to see if it works.