YOU NEED TO GROW UP!

[Antari]

snip

So my question to you guys is; How do you handle being called childish for enjoying things in realms many older people still see as the exclusive realm of children?

I tend to end up laughing in the face of people who say that to me. Live your life the way you want to. Not the way someone else wants you to. And if they don't like it. Laugh some more. Save pity for people who deserve it.

 

[Clowndoe]

"
- Stop listening to the metal, you need to grow up.
- Years working at the same place and you haven't even asked for a promotion, you need to grow up.
- Owls can't read your thoughts, you need to grow up. "

My favorite was when I visited my family for the first time in a while and my sister asked me if I was still in my video game fantasy world. I asked her if she was still in her fantasy world where her anthropology major was worth a crap.

 

[TallanKhan]

I have to admit it isn't something that gets said to me often, and that may have something to do with the fact that (as I found out only yesterday, and am still, as I'm sure you can telll, pretty peeved about it) I am apparently viewed as the "bad guy" of our managment team. But OT, when something like this is directed at me, I generally counter question with: "what was so traumatic about your childhood, making you so insecure that you feel threatended by people having an inner child?" - That usually shuts them up.

 

[wrightguy0]

If i ever want to remain successful in my life, in the career i've chosen to go to school for, I must never grow up, the animation industry is full of people like that and "growing up" is just a load of BS to creative people like me.

I'm the kind of guy who for the last 20 years has met his surroundings as if he was seeing them for the first time. I don't know how i've managed, and i hope i never change.

The most adaptable people are the ones who have maintained their "childish" attributes to some degree, because unlike the "Grownups" we haven't been molded into a rigid, narrow, inflexible worldview.

 

[Overusedname]

I cringed even reading it. As a thirty year old woman who does nothing but play video games I hear it a lot..

A lot.

At least my fucked up insides have bailed me out of the 'When are you going to have kids' bullshit. UGGGGGH.

When are you going to grow up to me sounds like 'When are you going to be boring assholes like us?'
How about never.

I'm still in college, so I don't here this, but I'm already bracing myself. My life is going to revolve around making video games and youtube videos and maybe one day if I'm rich as hell, animated series.

I will not bring a child into this world. I won't have time for them.

 

[Dalisclock]

Sadly, that phrase is so badly used it's not funny. It supposed to be used to tell someone to stop being an immature little dip**** and deal with things in a reasonable manner. Unfortunately, a lot of people use it as a way to bash people for liking things they don't think those people should like.

There's nothing immature about liking cartoons as an adult. It's very immature to act like you are a cartoon.

There's nothing immature about liking video games. It's extremely immature to threaten to murder and rape someone because they suggested the games you like might have offensively/simplistically portrayed characters.(yeah, I just watched Jimquisition this week and it reminded me about the whole Anita Sarkeensen rape comment thing). Way to go, douche gamers. A lot of us trying to show the world our hobby is one enjoyed by normal adults and you guys decide to make us all look like immature, sociopathic man-childern by association. Because you just had to launch into a crying, hissy fit the moment a woman started breathing on your bro bubble.

Where did this soapbox come from?

 

[rob_simple]

STOP BEING HAPPY!"

I was thinking about this the other night while playing No no Kuni. I was smiling madly going through Ding Dong Dell. If I was 'grown up' I'd be watching people be mean to other people on xfactor or some shit instead.

Seems like great fun >_>

I see no reason why you can't do both. I play video games and have a great time, and I watch reality TV (sparingly) and enjoy the sense of superiority I get that I'm not selling my dignity for a chance to get on TV.

The only thing that's changed about me as I've grown older is that I'm no longer overly hostile to people, and I don't go out of my way to get a reaction, because a reaction for reaction's sake doesn't hold the satisfaction I used to think it did.

I still do whatever makes me happy, and since it rarely infringes on the happiness of others, their feelings in regard to what I do do not concern me.

 

[Dalisclock]

"
- Stop listening to the metal, you need to grow up.
- Years working at the same place and you haven't even asked for a promotion, you need to grow up.
- Owls can't read your thoughts, you need to grow up. "

My favorite was when I visited my family for the first time in a while and my sister asked me if I was still in my video game fantasy world. I asked her if she was still in her fantasy world where her anthropology major was worth a crap.

Hey, some of us know that the owls aren't what they seem.

I do find it amusing when people like sports jocks try that. "When are you going to stop spending entire days watching dudes throw a ball around like five year olds". Stand back and watch the fireworks. It's hilarious.

 

[astrav1]

I HATE THIS STATEMENT!


Then there was the time I wore my MLP;FiM shirt to work... but lets not get into that.

So my question to you guys is; How do you handle being called childish for enjoying things in realms many older people still see as the exclusive realm of children?

>Wearing a shirt from a widely polarizing show
>Expecting not to draw various types of attention
Come on man just because you are an adult who still enjoys things from his youth or my little pony doesn't exempt you from having using your brain. I handle situations like this by not giving a fuck because I am a grown ass man.

 

[Easton Dark]

I probably make more money per year with my TF2 hats than their full-time salary

The true measure of success, ladies and gentlemen.

Make more money doing something that you like, then laugh in faces.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

snip

It's not really about me hating reality tv it's more that people act so superior. In short it's when they don't leave me alone about what I like. At least with video games you are having some input.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

So my question to you guys is; How do you handle being called childish for enjoying things in realms many older people still see as the exclusive realm of children?

By not giving a crap.

That might come across as a throw-away comment but it's true. Part of maturity is accepting people for their likes and dislikes even if they clash with yours - it takes all sorts after all. So what if people give you grief for liking the things you like? If they're shallow enough to judge you purely on your interests (rather than as a person) why should you care what they think? Incidentally, why are you looking down on them for liking the things they like?

 

[Heronblade]

So my question to you guys is; How do you handle being called childish for enjoying things in realms many older people still see as the exclusive realm of children?

I don't get angry over the matter for one thing. That really would be childish.

I hate to say it, but you are indeed going to get some weird looks, among other things, just with the pokemon, much less MLP. You don't have to let that change your behavior, but you ARE going to have to learn to deal with it in a reasonable manner without bursting a blood vein.

 

[Heronblade]

]I'm confused. Are we saying that the whole being alone and indoors AND obsessed with products predominantly marketed to children during your mid-thirties is an enviable state of being?

I believe that the point actually is that living one's dream is enviable, regardless of what that dream is. Some people want to write music, others to improve the lives of their fellow man in one way or another. Some simply enjoy making hand crafted items, and some enjoy the obsessive collection of one or another fandom.

While I personally am inclined to suspect that many in the last category suffer from a mild form of brain damage, I do not begrudge another's happiness, so long as it is genuine, even if the source is more than a little strange to me.

 

[bug_of_war]

Just say it makes me happy, or I enjoy doing this. Seriously, fuck all the subjective "you're x years old" or "you're not successful in my eyes" or any of that, just say that it's a hobby, you enjoy doing such activities. Regardless of what they say you will never change their mind, so you may as well come out and just say, "I enjoy doing so".

 

[Little Woodsman]

Grow up and take your responsibilities? Yup, we all have to at some point.
Grow up and stop having fun? Hell no! I have a job to make sure I have money to do fun stuff, and I'll spend that money (and what little free time remains) on whatever I like.

Listen to this person. And try not to let it get to you, when people say things like that to me I just remind myself
that "a waste is a terrible thing to mind".

Also, some of those 'childish' things you like? Not so childish. One of the few things that will get people to
go "what really?" about my likes/hobbies is when asked about my favorite movies, I will often list the third Pokemon
movie "Secret of the Unknown".
When people ask "Isn't that a kid's movie"
I reply "It's a movie that can be enjoyed by kids. But when you examine it it's really about

Spoiler: spoilers for Secret of the Unknown

a little girl coming to terms with the loss of her parents.

 

[Quadocky]

Simply as I can say:

Being Grown Up is basically the capacity to be a decent person who recognizes the validity of others.

 

[Silly Hats]

I hate the; "You have too much time on your hands" statement the most.

Just because you can't organise your time to make the most out of that 1-2h free time window doesn't make me wrong or wasting my time. If I can cook dinner, clean up, take care of my dogs after getting home from a 10h shift at work,then you can on a regular basis.

 

[Friendly Lich]

If you got to 35 years of age and you were single, still living in rented accomodation and spent your weekends drawing pictures of MLP and Pokémon in your underpants would you say that your life is a success?

That's a rhetorical question, otherwise the correct answer is "no".

Now if you got to 35 years old and were married with a kid on the way, living in a small house with a huge mortage and spent all of your weekends doing DIY and ironing whilst being all dead inside* then you'd be doing pretty darn well.

Spoiler

*- I'm cheating a bit here because you pretty much go dead inside at age 35 no matter what you do. I think it is something to do with glands.

You have a very conservative view of what "success" is.

Would you consider a person who's 35 years of age, single, living in rented accomodation, but has spend the last 20 years of their life creating what they deem to be the perfect piece of art, a failure?

Would you consider someone of the same age who lives out in the wilderness entirely by themselves and has managed to become entirely self sufficient, A failure?

Your version of success, which seems to be accruing material objects, is not the same as everybody else's.

OT: What's deemed mature and what's deemed immature vary from culture to culture. Anybody who tries to tell you that their culture's version of immaturity is correct and you should change your life accordingly is small minded.

I think he was being sarcastic.

 

[Vegosiux]

I hate the; "You have too much time on your hands" statement the most.

Just because you can't organise your time to make the most out of that 1-2h free time window doesn't make me wrong or wasting my time. If I can cook dinner, clean up, take care of my dogs after getting home from a 10h shift at work,then you can on a regular basis.

Oh yes, that I agree with so much.

You know when you have too much time on your hands. You realize that's the case when you start getting annoyed at yourself, because you're always around and really could use a break from yourself.