/feels/ - Advice & Venting

do you not feel like doing it because you've lost passion, or because you just feel awkward? if it's the latter then i would encourage you not to quit! even if you feel insecure, you should still follow your desires. realistically, none of them even really care that you're a few years older.

I went back to uni at 25 when most everyone was 18-23. Sometimes sucked when people brought up age and went like "ommmmg??? You're 25????? How??????? Why??????" but you've just got to suck it up and push through. Just saying this to show you that I know what it feels like to be in that position. It's only 4 years (or however long your program is), it'll be over before you know it honestly, and you'll reap the benefits from getting a degree immediately afterwards. Only quit the program if you genuinely don't think you can do it and can think of a better alternative, but don't forget that you'll still be insecure about the age gap if you get into a different program.

>>115525
I could just be face blind but, theres been a handful of times in classes at uni that i didnt notice a classmate was late 20s/early 30s until it came up in conversation and even then I didnt think less of them or anything. Its totally normal to not always go straight from hs to uni

When you're 18, 25 feels old. I wouldn't say that young people judge older students (even though 25 isn't that old), they just lack life experience and need time to adjust. Most of them have just gotten out of school, an environment wherein 90% of the people with whom they interact are close to their age. Most of them work casual jobs wherein 90% of people are close to their age. They're experiencing, for the first time, what it's like to be equal to someone older than them (rather than being subordinate to someone older).

4 years is not a huge difference in age - most of my friends fall within 5 years either side of me, but I have a couple who are over 10 years older than me. Age can technically affect friendships, for example I have friends nearing 40 who have kids, and because they have kids they aren't able to join in any reindeer games, proverbially speaking. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate their company, it just impacts how often we can do things together.

By many superficial metrics, I shouldn't be able to "connect" with people in my age range; I don't have a smart phone, I don't have TV, I don't watch many series or movies, and I don't care much for most contemporary pop music. Nevertheless, I manage to make friends, largely due to a lot of personal growth (this includes cultivating a genuine curiosity for others, finding reasons to be confident in my own abilities, and exposing myself to a lot of different views and ideas).