What is like to live with old(er) people
I have spent most of my life living in places with family members that are 50+ years old. Although I am highlighting the bad stuff for me, I have learnt a lot and I recognise the wisdom they own.
From grandparents to aunts and uncles, these are some of the things that I have lived:
They are conservative, don’t even try to deal with it.
At first I was up for a fight. I wanted to be able to give my point of view towards topics that are being relevant nowadays (anxiety, depression, homosexuality, adoption, etc.) but then I realised there’s no point on doing so because they won’t listen and it’s better to work towards future generations; and if an old person listens, they won’t admit they are wrong. They still make insulting jokes, and want it all to be “like it used to be back in their times”. Hair dying? “What are they thinking? Are they insane?”, tattoos? “Getting a tattoo means you are empty inside, and they make you look like a homeless person”, and depression and anxiety? “Get over yourself, feelings are dumb”.
They mostly talk about politics and boring stuff.
I would dare to say that the amount of young people that truly love politics is minimum. Of course we must be involved, specially if we are able to vote, but this is not a congress inside a house. I am sick of the political talk, the trashing towards people from another political side, and overall the constant complaining. Also, their conversations (about politics or not) can’t have a bit of overreaction, and bad words are out of context. Well guess what? I want to express with bad words sometimes because that’s how mad or excited I am. Plus, I want to talk about imaginary stuff.
They want to know everything.
Seriously, if there’s someone I want to tell everything about my day it would probably be the person I am dating, some of my closest friend(s) or my mom and sister. I am allowed to have secrets as well, so if you hear me talking or laughing with someone or something over the phone you don’t have to know who I am talking with or what I am laughing at.
They want it all the way they want, they are right and you are not.
I consider myself a fairly organised guy, and I can be very neurotic about many things: I hate dirty bathroom and suffocated rooms; but I am a teen for God’s sake and I am lazy sometimes or whatever you want to call me. Things are not only black or white.
And even with that, they love you.
I am lucky that I’ve been able to live with a caring and loving family. But I am a young guy, someone who’s always lived under the radar of the old ones and that has been raised by many conservative standards, as if I had to be an old teen. It was nice for a short time, but not for this long.
This has brought me to think that I need my own space and it’s getting late, a space surrounded by more young people like me. I think I’ve already learned most if not everything I could from the oldest in my family, and I am thankful. These are the kind of experiences that make us grow, but I don’t want to grow so fast, I want to enjoy my life, and that’s what I am aiming for now.
