Getting old, young

At the young and spunky age of 24, I feel old. It's hard to prepare yourself to feel old. Suddenly I look through catalogs which used to seem so mature and out of my league, and now the models look younger than I do. I think I'm starting to come to the realization that I just might be an adult, scary! No longer will I be able to fulfill my first grade dream of becoming a ballerina, I'm also at the cut-off age for most MTV dating shows and I'm past the prime age for supermodels ... sorry to disappoint everyone. I still catch myself saying "When I grow up, I want to be a bus driver," until I realize ... it's already happened and I have not fulfilled my dream of becoming a bus driver. I still feel like I can relate to people in high school and/or college until my students are surprised when I tell them how old I am ... do I really look THAT old? I also have an old husband. You KNOW you're getting old when you say thing like "Yeah, all the young people these days ..." (to be followed by some insulting generalization of which you have no actual proof). Brandon does this quite often. He's not a fan of young people, especially high-schoolers who look like they're 12 with wild hair, driving SUV's 65mph in a residential area. I think it's the hair that really bothers him because he secretly wants long greasy un-combed hair to fit in with "all the young people." It's frightening that I can relate to my mother who is 25 years my senior over my cousin who is only 8 years my junior. See, I'm already starting to talk like an old person (My senior, my junior? Only grandparents say that!). But, I have to say that I am quite happy to be this age. Though it's weird to feel old and admit that I'm officially in my MID twenties, the freedom is great. Brandon and I are dirt poor and living in my parents basement, but I still feel free to live my own life the way I see fit. I can finally be friends with my parents and however boring talk about "grown-up" things like financial planning and taxes. And just remember, all the young people these days will one day be taking care of us old people. How's that for a scary thought?