Living with my grandparents while I was growing up, I heard quite a few old timey sayings from them and their friends. One saying that has stayed with me through the years is “youth is wasted on the young”.
When I was younger, my take on the saying was that it rang true but the meaning didn’t really apply to me. Actually experiencing growing older has forced me to experience it myself. It’s very hard for young people to visualize what it will be like when your body and mind reach physical maturity and how your body will even begin deteriorating before then.
When you have nearly bottomless energy, no wrinkles, and a fresh excitement for the world it is very difficult to understand you have a finite number of days to live and where you spend your time & energy is extraordinarily important.
Youth makes you think that you can party like a rockstar forever, you can spend your time on silly things, and with unimportant people. Age & experience teaches you that taking care of yourself and people important to you is your top priority.
I may sound a bit silly as I’m only 26 years old, but I most likely have now lived a full third of my life (and the majority of my most active days). I want to live my life to the fullest and without regret.