Fresh-Pin5166

My perimenopausal brain doesn’t even remember why I walked into the kitchen, good luck trying to get any pre-internet memories out of this brain fog.

Yes. And it's equal parts a desire to be in nature and a desire to just be away from screens, work, and capitalism.

Nah, not right away. I'm bad at small talk and my social awkwardness and quietness often translate into arrogance to others. Once I'd get to know me though, I'd love me.

Aside from one job where I was completely and utterly out of my depth, work anxiety wasn't a thing for me throughout my 20s and much of my 30s. Now, nearing 50, things are getting to me. Stressed about deadlines, stressed about finances, anxious about losing my job and the economy in general, anxious about not having saved enough for retirement. Mind you, I'm doing ok. I have more money and resources now than I had in my 20s and 30s. Loving partner, 6 figure job, car is paid off, mortgage isn't but hey, I own my own place. But now I'm anxious, stressed, numb... and my poor unemployed younger self absolutely wasn't. Aside from age/ time, there's another interesting factor playing into this equation for me. I moved from Europe to America in my early 30s. I'm generalizing here, but I'm sure that living in America, especially right now, is more stressful and anxiety-inducing than living in Europe, regardless of age. I feel capitalism, social media, junk food... all of that really played a number on us.

I don't have any real regrets but oh so many 'what ifs' that I think about a lot.

We're a beautiful generation.

Not a steady boyfriend but I had affairs and dates with adult men when I was a teenager, and I was hit on by significantly older men constantly. It didn't strike me as odd back then but hey, my prefrontal cortex hadn't fully developed yet. Looking back, I'm absolutely grossed out and concerned, it was never ok and I was highly manipulated.

Saw them live last year and literally had a tear running down my cheek when Born Slippy came on.

Being an older teenager and young 20-something in the 90s in Europe, I gotta throw in Trainspotting.

Yeah, I feel we're getting hit hard as a generation right now regarding mental acuity. Guess we're getting older, us Gen X women are probably dealing with some stage of menopause, many of us caught covid which is also known to cause brain fog, and the overall stress of living through this stupid timeline and late-stage capitalism is probably draining on our brains too. But like others said, I try to combat it with being active, spending more time doing puzzles or sudokus and less time on socials, and eating healthy rather than taking supplements. Although I get it... they look more tempting each and every day.

I (48) have the same with my mom's face (68). My teeth somehow moved in the last few years to be a lot more crowded and crooked, which I hate. But also love because now my smile is an exact copy of my mom's and how lucky am I to be able to see my mother's smile for the rest of my life.

Two books, classics. 1. The Great Gatsby, because I too am an oh-so-romantic dreamer who had to learn the hard way that 'no amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.' 2. Death of a Salesman, for this single line: A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.

I can relate to this so much. I (f, 48) remember about the last 10 years as if they were my own life, but my childhood, youth, 20s and early 30s... that might as well have been someone else's life. Even significant cultural or historical events of my youth don't feel like I've ever been a part of. I grew up in Germany, I was there when the wall came down, the re-unification years afterwards, all of that, but all I can remember are the snippets of TV coverage of those events. Then later, after having moved to the States, 9/11, the 2008 economic crisis... I was there, but it still feels like it's just a news report I watched and not a timeline I actually lived through. And like you said, watching 80s/ 90s kids and teenage movies now... they feel familiar, relatable, and honestly make me long for a childhood that I don't think I ever had. Or did I? I do believe trauma plays a role but still, it's so odd to feel like I've only been truly conscious and self-aware for maybe 10 out of my 48 years. I have trouble finding the right words for how I feel, but I do know that I relate to your post a lot.

I don’t feel old yet, but I don’t feel young anymore either.

I love my mom but couldn't care less if my father lived or died. The older I get the less sympathy I have for the way he never cared about me, a child from a shortlived affair with my then teenage mother. He only ever cared about himself and what others might think of him, and the affair with my mom would've been largely frowned upon because of their age gap... oh, and him having a f\*cking wife. What I find utterly annoying and frustrating with all boomer relatives is the ignorance of generational trauma, and generational societal changes they initiated which screwed over Gen X and younger generations. They just don't see it, don't understand it, and are unwilling to learn. I can't stand this trait with even my dearest boomer relatives.

31, in 2009 right after the market tanked so me and the then-husband got the deal of a lifetime. Unfortunately I had to get out of that increasingly problematic marriage and he ended up keeping the house because I didn't have the means back then to take over the mortgage, nor did I want to stay in the area. I set that man up for life as the house's value (in a very desirable Southern California area) as the home's value already more than doubled. Sigh. But I bought another place in 2021 at 43 as a then-single woman, smarter and happier now.

Have confidence in your thoughts and feelings. I was still so easily influenced by what people thought of me, what people (family even) thought I should do with me life, what people thought of my skills and knowledge. I made significant life choices (career, moves, relationships) based on what other people thought I was capable of or what was right for me, even though deep down it didn't feel right to me. I wish I would have listened to my own gut and brains more, turns out I was right about so so many things all along. I had not realized yet that others are just winging life as well, I had no reason giving their thoughts authority over mine.

\^\^ Only correct answer.

I love Mother Denim, great quality, cool cuts and washes that don’t look like they’re made for a 20 yo but still have a bit of an edge, just a sophisticated edge. You can also find them used on Poshmark or so, if new is too high of a price tag.

I feel there's also a geographical element to it. I have a European and a US passport and my European Gen X friends are doing A LOT better than my US Gen X friends, especially right now.