Including your age is appreciated but not required

At 21 years old, I would never have thought I'd be living in [REDACTED] with 4 kids, a GF and awell paying job I actually like.

Alternatively, 21 year old me would probably have had his mind blown if I'd shown him all the places in the world I've had the pleasure of visiting.

I’m 44. The fact I’m still living. Nothing is wrong with me health wise. It’s just that past 40 is such a long time to live.

Sorry for how trite and predictable this is, but even though I was pretty cynical half my life ago, I couldn't have imagined so vile and corrupt a personage occupying the White House as what is there now, nor how easily and with how much cooperation they've been able to destroy the Constitution and government that was based on it.

I am surprised that I made it out of my 20s and 30s alive. I also didn't expect to have a job that aligns with my ethics. I am a caregiver for high functioning adults with special needs and pretty good at it.

My boyfriend cares about me. Like, deeply. Like he will go out of his way to do things to support me. I was raised being told over and over that men are selfish and generally more concerned for themselves than their wives. That I need to be prepared to shoulder more of the burden. This is weird. He’s super nice. I can’t get over it.

How much of working life is emotional prostitution.

I had a dead-set career path (game design) and even went to college with this path in mind. When it all came together and I finally had the opportunity to do it, I made a sudden decision against it.

Ended up being the right choice, but I don't think my younger self would believe it.

That made me curious: what's your current field? And has your college degree been useful in another way than originally intended?

1. Half would be 19.5.

So, second year of college. I would be surprised about my salary vs what that's worth in today's economy. I would have been ecstatic with this back then. Would have thought I was living the dream. Inflation is a bitch.

Also, I probably would be shocked at how cool retro handhelds are now. I just got a Retroid Pocket Nova, and it can play every console I've ever had (I stopped console gaming at the PS2). And, it can run some Windows games. At 19, I was rocking a Windows Mobile 6 PDA, with a 624 MHz processor.

The two things I think would be most surprising to 25 year old me would be that I still skateboard regularly, and how happy I am being single, as they'd just gotten married and been told they're too old to be skating.

I see this depiction of men all the time, and it just baffles me.

At the end of the day, most men are so happy when they are able to provide, protect, and support their wives / families / friends. Doing so is how most men measure their success in life. As Eddie Murphy said, all we really ask in return is the big piece of chicken.

all the shit i can afford that i never dreamed of even having.

curse of low expectations I guess.

But I'd be super depressed that I never found a partner or had a family. Half a lifetime ago i was dating someone I thought I'd marry and have a family with... then she turned out to hate me and children. And sadly ever I met since her also hated me and children... so better off being single than being with someone who hates me.

The biggest surprise would definitely be that I'm trans, so I look completely different now than 19-years-old me might have imagined :D

Same age. 19 year old me had never even heard of trans people, so it would definitely be a shock, but I'd like to think a welcome one.

Nearly all details would fascinate me, but nothing would shock me.

Probably the credit card debt. And learning how long that asshole cat I got as a sophomore in college ended up living (18.5 spiteful years).

Wow, I could write something similar. It was game dev for me. My younger self prepared for the college path. I didn't deviate. I didn't land a job in the industry and now do something similar, which isn't exactly games (VR training simulations). Best decision of my life.

Younger self might be disappointed I don't make cool games.

I'm not sure 20 year old me would be very surprised. I ended up pretty much exactly where it would be expected of me: still single, living in a garage, working a dead end factory job. No possibility of ever owning a home and dwindling possibly for any kind of retirement.

I sorta knew that trans people existed, but didn't know of hormone replacement (in the '00s Hungarian tabloids only spoke of surgeries when they mentioned trans people 🙄), and since I couldn't have passed without that, it never crossed my mind that me being trans was an option.

Mid-forties now. Mid-20s me would be surprised to know that yes, he does have major depression and doesn't have to just find a way to work around that. A lot of great things came after that, but many unnecessarily bad things in the interim. Now I'm just what I feel to be a normal amount of depressed! 😅

My wife is like that for a lot of valid reasons. If I may give you a useless piece of advice, enjoy it instead of fighting it because he may be serious about what he is doing.

That everything I learned about computers from assembly language in the 80s to tinkering with all the operating systems in the world would be thrown in the trash by a bunch of moronic managers who decided that ChatGPT was better than learning and being curious.

And as a result, that I would be disgusted by what is happening with programmers, and that I would find another job that does not involve any technology whatsoever. I loved that shit, I hate what it has become.

parents project their shit onto their kids, it sucks.

a lot of unhappy people, refuse to let anyone around them ever be happy. you're allowed to be happy. don't let other folks unhappiness ruin yours, because they will try very hard to ruin it for you.

because it's a projection. the women who complain about men being like that... are mostly talking about themselves.

i've dated many women who thought that way... and they are talking about themselves. they see the world through an adversarial lens and everything is about them having power over others and being terrified of anyone having power over them.

and if you explain to them you don't want any power over them they simple don't believe you. they think it's a lie or a manipulation tactic.... because that's how they treat everyone, through lies and manipulation. and no matter how honest you are with them... doesn't matter because they don't believe honesty exists.

What job did you switch to?

My eating habits.

At 17, I would have been ungodly shocked to know that those fainting episodes were part of something much much bigger. I'd be a little put off by how sedentary I become, but at least I'm still fighting the good fight.

I think I also would be fairly shocked to see myself as gay.

Young me would have a hell of an emotional rollercoaster to see current me for certain, lol

I'm chronically ill. I was always healthy and skinny and would totally judge fat people.

No job yet, I have a lot of ideas but it's difficult to change when you've been focused on computers for so long.

The level of evil that adults are capable of. My young self would never have imagined it. I used to think humans were nice to each other.

When I was 17 I was fresh out of high school and had no idea what I wanted to study or do. I'm 34 and have studied a myriad of shit by now but I guess what is most surprising is that I still don't know what I want to do.

That being successful wouldn't make things worth it or life more bearable.

I guess I was using the wrong metric.

25 year old me would be surprised that I switched jobs a few times, got my bachelors degree and don't work as a plant operator anymore. He would be most surprised about which people are still a major part of my life, and which turned out to be not worth it.

I've heard about this guy named Tony who still skates at the age of 58. He's pretty good at it too. I wonder if he ever considered a career in it.

This is interesting to think. I wouldn't be that surprised at my life. I did the stuff i wanted to, nothing crazy has happened really. I still do a lot of the same hobbies I did 20 years ago, just with more money. I would think emulation is fricken sweet as well as all the console mods that exist now.

I'd be massively depressed at the state of the world. Makes me wonder how much worse itll get in another 20 years.

Tony Crow? Yeah he's my neighbor. Great guy.

What really made it hit was when I gave more thought to how much trash the human race has created, even in 20 years, let alone since the wave of products in the 50s.

Like, I think it can just end any time. We had a good run.

I always used to say I don't wanna be rich. Just 30k a year and I'll be set, I could buy anything I want with that.

30k is poverty now in america.

No, Tony Magnusson, but I'm pretty sure he retired

Late 20's, most surprising would be the fact that i'm no better off than I was when I got out of high school.

early 50's. did well in school and got a lot of education. I knew I would not necessarily be rich but technically in a meritocracy I should have done pretty well. I should note I have done better than many of the peers both my wife and I know. Most who have done better did so by making good connections. I can't believe how poorly I have had to live and that my retirement is so unsure at this age. Heck I thought the increasing retirement age would reverse itself and advancement would allow for a much more utopian society. lol. also technological miracles beyond my wildest imaginations implemented in dystopian ways beyond my wildest fears.

I have to say that I to am surprised at how sedentary I was. I get around but man I used to bike and walk so much. Used to be minimum of miles per day and now its miles per week.

Compared to my early 20s, living in rural Japan is probably the most surprising things. As well it should as now my plan is to GTFO to a country that believes more in workers' rights, allows getting citizenship while maintaining an old one (need my US citizenship until my parents pass and Japan has no visa to move them here unless they're basically homeless), etc.

I keep on thinking about how many eggs I was making per hour at minimum wage way back when.

yeah felt like nixon was an anomaly and reagan and um man bush jr. seems pretty typical for these guys, but surely it could not get worse......

IDK. I think the half part is what gets me on this. I'm a similar age to you. But my 19 year old self was definitely a repper. My 12 or 13 year old self would be shocked. My 19 year old self would be understanding but horrified. They can both pound sand. I would have a lot of fun tormenting my 19 year old self. Would torment him with lurid descriptions of how I've had srs, am married to a cis het guy, and all that that implies. 🤣🤣🤣

Probably how cool and popular I am. 17 year old me was pretty awkward and bad at socializing.

Yea. I still seriously believe that over half of people are "fundamentally" "good" and that they just make mistakes etc.

And I definitely knew about how bad people could be due to access to good history books and parents who told me about things like the Belgian Congo.

But my kid self would have been shocked at how common people being shit to each other is and the incredible scale of damage the most powerful are able to do to the world.

That I'm alive. Suicidal depression is a hell of a drug.

50 years old.

1. That I am as "successful" as I currently am. Measured by typical achievement of "The American Dream".
2. Why the fuck do I live on a cul-de-sac in some boring-ass suburban neighborhood with literally zero charm or culture. I should be living on the top floor of some mixed-use urban building with a subway or light rail station across the street.
3. Most importantly, younger me would be so disappointed in my Christmas lights. Where are all the Christmas lights? I have a house. I can afford plenty of Christmas lights. Why are my house and yard and trees and bushes not absolutely doused in Christmas lights. Like Clark W. Griswold levels...you see younger me, it turns out that having a house is already a lot of stupid, unnecessary work, and then putting up Christmas lights and taking them down is even more work and I'm tired.