Getting Older - Tumblr Posts
How to Grow Up
A guide on how to grow up. It was originally posted by @/friendliness but half the links were broken. So I took what links weren't broken and added other links and more things to know.
This is USA based resources
Personal
Reasons to Stay Alive – A Tumblr post of 116 reasons to stay alive by @/friendliness.
How to Get Better At Asking for Help – Website is Harvard Business Review. The article is “5 Ways to Get Better At Asking for Help” by Wayne Baker.
What to do if you Can’t Afford Therapy – Website is Psych Central and the article is by Steven Rowe.
How to Quit Smoking – “The 22 Best Ways to Quit Smoking” by Debra L. Gordon and David L. Katz M.D. from the Healthy Digest.
How to Legally Change your Name – Website is Forbes.
Wanna Learn Something New? – A Tumblr post made by @/hamletthedane with various new things to try from language learning to ballet.
Free Harvard Courses – Harvard University’s free online courses.
Getting a New Computer? – A quick and dirty comprehensive guide by WIRED on what to look for.
How to Sew – Website is Autodesk Indestructibles. The article is “How to Sew” by Jessyratfink. Having a small sewing kit (that you can pick up from nearly any craft store) is super handy and has saved my life and clothes.
What to Look For in Clothes – A YouTube video by Alyssa Beltempo titled “How to Identify High Quality vs. Poor Quality Clothing | Slow Fashion”. Here’s a WikiHow [x] if a YouTube video isn’t your style.
Home
What’s a mortgage? – Website is realtor.com and the page is called “What is a Mortgage? Home Loan Basics Explained” by Cathie Ericson.
First Apartment Checklist – A checklist PDF. Here’s another link to a Tumblr checklist [x]
What to Ask Landlords Before Renting? – “25 Questions To Ask a Landlord When Renting a Home” by Morgen Henderson.
What’s Renter’s Insurance? – Website is Forbes Advisor. The article is by Jason Metz and titled “How to Get Renters Insurance”.
Plant Care – A master list of how to care for plants made by @/difficults
Job
Time Management – Website is Entrepenuer and has 10 time management tips. One I personally recommend is keeping a physical calendar book on hand. I keep mine in my bag with a designated pen.
Finding the right job – Website is The Muse and it has 13 free career assessment tests.
Make a resume – Website is Resume Now. Many hirers look at your name, the middle of the page (where your experience list is) and skim the rest.
Job Interview Tips – Website is Linkedin. The article is titled “10 Job Interview Tips to Land The Career of Your Dreams” by Caren Merrick.
How to Write a Cover Letter – Website is The Writing Center. University of Winsconsin, Madison. It’s titled “Writing Cover Letters” and I can’t find the author.
Money
Couponing! – Website is Coupon Database :: Southern Savers. It has a list of mobile apps for coupons to places.
Call 211 for Help – the website leads to 211.org. It's anonymous and can help you get connected to food programs, paying bills and things like doctor appointments. Here’s a Tumblr post about it [x] by @/poessionisamyth
Groceries! – This is a Tumblr meme post, but scrolling through tags/reblogs/replies and there’s plenty of good tips. The post is by @/charlotten
What To Do if You Can’t Pay Your Bills – Website is Nolo. The article is “When You Can’t Pay Your Bills: Thiings To Know” that was updated by Amy Loftsgordon.
Are You Paying Too Much for Your Phone Bill? – An article by Beht Beverman titled “How Much is Too Much to Pay for a Cell Phone Bill?”.
54 Ways to Save Money – Website is America Saves.
How to Do Taxes – Website is Wiki-How.
The 70/20/10 Method – Website is Business Insider. The Article is “A Beginners Guide to the 70-20–10 Budgeting Method” by Paul Kim.
Side Hustle Ideas – Website is Forbes. “30 Side Hustle Ideas To Make Extra Money In 2024” by Krista Fabregas.
Emergency
Your Rights When a Cop Pulls you Over – Website is Business Insider. Cops are allowed to lie to you, and they will, so be careful.
Hotline List – The website is DoSomething.org. Depression/Suicide, domestic abuse, child abuse and runaway/homeless/and at-risk youth hotlines.
What to Keep in Your Car – Website is MentalFloss. I live in a snowy area that gets blizzards and bad ice. I keep blankets, water and other aids in my car as well as a knife and road flare. I also own a self jumping car battery and it has saved my ass more than once. Heimlich Maneuver – A one minute video by the Mayo Clinic.
The Heimlich Maneuver on Yourself – A one minute video by The List Show TV.
What to Keep in Your Wallet – Website is PureWow. The article is by Rachel Bowie. Keep your drivers license, medical insurance card, and an emergency contact in your card. If you have a pet home alone make sure that you have a card detailing this. Free printable one here [x]
Traveling
Packing List – Website is Smarter Travel.
Traveling with Little to No Money – Website is Nomadic Matt.
How to Pack a Suitcase – Website is Real Simple. The article is by Thersa O’Rourke.
How to Apply for a Passport – Website is WikkiHow.
Making a Travel Budget – Website is Travel Made Simple. “How to Make a Travel Budget” by Ali Garland
Midas Touch - Prologue
About a year ago, we were out on a joy ride. Me and my buddies Greg and Blake would always go on joy rides late at night. We would rip it through these long backroads, it was nothing but dirt and sparse shrubbery. But we'd always pass this creepy looking government building. We never knew what it was, it only said "Government of the United States of America" on the gate, it never said what the facility was actually for. It was pretty small, but it always had one car in the dimly lit parking lot, no matter how late at night, even on the weekend. We were speeding past it just like any other night, and without warning, an explosion erupted from the building. The right side windows shattered as the car was thrown to the left. The last thing I remember was feeling an immense pressure in my chest and a sharp pain in my right ear. I woke up face down in the dirt. I tried moving, and was shocked at how little it hurt. It did hurt, but not as much as you'd think after getting flung out of a car. I slowly turned myself over and saw Greg slouching out of the broken window of the car, not too far from where I laid. Blake seemed to have been flung from the car early, because he was laying by the road. I sat on the floor as my hope drained away, I thought they were dead.
I don't even know how long I sat there for, my only measure of time was counting the crackles coming from the fire. But it was finally interrupted by the roaring of an engine. It was an eighteen wheeler. The brakes squealed as it stopped right beside where Blake was laying. An average looking man came running out of the truck, and it just gave me enough hope to get up. I hobbled myself to my feet and began stumbling to the truck. The man ran to Blake and he put a hand out, to my surprise, Blake reached out and grabbed it. Relief swept over my body, he's alive. But the moment their hands touched, something weird happened. The man froze in place. It was hard to see what happened next, it was dark and my vision was a bit fuzzy. But the man's silhouette went average sized, to large , to massive in the span of seconds. As I got closer, all I could see was a fat guy hanging under his tiny shirt. Am I hallucinating? Am I dying? The man seemed to unfreeze and he reached down to grab Blake's hand again, this time pulling him to his feet. Even weirder is that it seems the man pulled Blake in for a hug after pulling him up. I continued to make my way towards the road as Blake hobbled over to the man's truck. The man then focused his attention on me. He slowly ran his fastest towards me, all his fat bouncing with each step. As he got closer, I confirmed that his gut was spilling out under his shirt. Honestly his shirt looked more like a bra, containing his massive moobs. He smiled with his chubby cheeks as he got close, he thanked God I was okay and told me to get in his truck. He then grabbed Greg's limp body out of the car and carried him to the truck.
I was kind of in and out of consciousness once I was in the man's truck. All I caught was that he was driving us to his house, and that the nearest hospital was too far. He did seem really jolly for a guy who just found three nearly dead guys on the side of the road, but I am not in the position to question it right now. I could also see that Blake was periodically staring at the trucker's body. Maybe I wasn't hallucinating? Maybe he saw it too? I mean he must have, he was right there.
I have no idea how long the drive went on, but I seemed to be staying awake for longer and longer as time went on. I heard the trucker talking to Blake, who seemed to be the only one of us who could actually stay awake. He talked about how he was driving some equipment through the backroads when he found us. He said we were lucky he was so close to his home, considering we were in the middle of nowhere. But before I knew it, we made it to his place. I think he had called his sons to help sometime during the drive, because there were two younger men waiting on the driveway. The trucker parked and hopped out of the car. I couldn't exactly hear what he was saying to his sons, but I heard one of them comment on his shirt being too small. It was starting to confuse me, why would the son comment on the small shirt but not react to the fact that his dad was like three times fatter than he was before. Are we the only ones that see something is off? Anyway, there wasn't time to think about it. The trucker ran inside, presumably to get medical supplies. Blake seemed capable enough to get himself out of the truck on his own. I just sat there as one of the sons opened the door nearest Greg. He grabbed Greg's arm, and similar to the trucker earlier, he froze in place. The man looked in his mid twenties, but it didn't last long. The young man quickly aged into his thirties, then his forties, and into his fifties. He looked older than his father. His face had slimmed down and matured, and wrinkles formed on his skin. His patchy beard grew out into a more full and bushy beard and his hairline receded quite far. It was hard to see from where I was sitting, but it seemed as though hair on his arms and chest had grown much thicker. It also looked like he had grown a bit of a pot belly, but not big enough to be too noticeable under his shirt. The man unfroze and continued to pull Greg out of the truck as if nothing had happened. What the fuck is going on? I don't have time to think about it as the other son opens the door on my side. He reaches for my arm, and as expected, he freezes in place the moment he touches my skin. I watch close up as the young man starts to grow, but not like the other two. I felt his hands begin to expand as he was touching my arms, and I see his biceps grow until they're ripping through his sleeves. His pecs balloon out until they burst out of his shirt, and a defined six pack forms on his stomach. His jawline sharpened as his face became more sleek. I could see his shorts tighten around his thighs as they grew, even his shoes looked like they had gotten tight. Just like the other two, he resumes as if nothing happened. He picked me up like it was nothing and carried me into his home.
I'm dropped off on a dining table in the middle of the living room. Blake seemed to be sitting on the couch with an ice pack on his head, but he seems shocked at the sight of the two sons, who are completely unrecognizable from the men that he saw before. I turn my head and see Greg laying beside me on the table, I let out a sigh of relief when I see that he's breathing
I end up sitting there for what feels like forever. They gave me a bunch of pills and I didn't really feel much after that. I ended up falling asleep for a while. I woke up and it was light out. I was really sore, even more so than when I woke up after the crash, but can still muster the strength to get up. Greg is passed out on the couch across from me, so I don't bother waking him. I wander around for a bit and see Blake and the trucker's family having breakfast. They invite me to join, so I do. I was too exhausted to really contribute to the conversation, but I was still paying enough attention to get an idea of what was going on. The first thing that I noticed was that the trucker and the son that carried me inside were shirtless, I assume because none of their shirts fit them. And everyone seemed to just act as if things were normal despite the fact that the father is three times the size he was before, one of the sons is now older than his father, and the other son is about doubled in size from pure muscle. The father was always cheery and smiling. He mostly talked about how it was a miracle that we were all okay. It was either that, or he was cracking a joke about something. He was actually surprisingly funny. The son that grew old seemed to be a little more reserved, but when he did talk it seemed to always be some sort of advice. He seemed really smart to be honest. The son who grew strong seemed to be the one usually driving the conversation. He was always the loudest and most assertive, he was really charming. He also wouldn't stop flexing, like he would flex his bicep and just stare at it for a bit, and he would bounce his pecs every once and a while.
Eventually, Blake and I excuse ourselves to talk privately. Once we're out of earshot, he just unloads about all the weird shit that has happened since the crash. FINALLY! I knew I wasn't crazy. He explains what he thinks is going on. He noticed that the man who touched him grew fat, the man who carried Greg in grew old, and the man who carried me in grew strong. He also mentioned that it didn't seem to happen to the men a second time, as he had touched all of them since and nothing happened.
Now that it has been a year since the crash, I always wear gloves. Greg and Blake do too. It didn't take long after the accident that we started accidentally touching people. Whether it was someone grabbing our arm, or simply brushing past someone, it happened often in spite of our best efforts. Now we cover up as much of our body and always wear gloves. Though we did find out a lot about our powers from accidentally touching people.
For one, it only works on adult men for some reason, and it only works once between the three of us. Once someone has been transformed by one of us, they're immune. Each of our powers comes with physical and mental changes, changes that nobody except us seems to notice. Mine makes them grow a lot of muscle, and sometimes makes them grow taller and hairier. It tends to make them more dominant and assertive, more confident, and more charming. Blake's makes them grow extremely fat and usually makes them hairier. It makes them happy, caring, kind, and funny. It also tends to make them have an extremely high appetite. Greg's makes people grow old, which tends to have many side effects associated with getting old. Their hair will turn grey, their skin wrinkles, and they tend to get a bit fatter, just not nearly as extreme as with Blake. It makes them mature, wise, and usually a bit reserved.
Inevitably, basically all of our family members and close friends have fallen victim to our powers. My brother and father are now jacked and go to the gym all the time, despite never going before hand. Blake's father was fat before but now, saying he's obese is an understatement. I've been over for dinner many times since then and man can that man eat. All of the men in Greg's family are about a generation older than they used to be. I'm sure he gets a lot of good life advice from them tho.
As for our friends, there are some funny stories behind that. One time, we were playing beer pong not too long after the crash. Blake was blackout drunk and stumbled over after he threw a ping pong ball. Our friend Darren went to catch him, by the time Blake was back in his feet, Darren was nearly 300 pounds. Darren obviously doesn't know what really happened, but he still talks about the day he went home and his clothes were suddenly 5 sizes too small.
This one was pretty recent. Pete was a guy we met well after the crash, and well after we had transformed all of our friends. So by that point we had been much less careful around our friends because it didn't matter as much. But we kinda forgot we should be careful around Pete. We were hanging out and just decided to start wrestling, I have no idea why. Well when Pete and I started to wrestle, his hand brushed my face. Let's just say he went on to destroy everyone at wrestling that day.
Greg is probably the most careful out of all of us, but he eventually slipped up. Honestly it wasn't even his fault, the one place we can't really cover up is our face. But one time, we were watching the Superbowl and our friend Jim is super into football. It was a close game but his team was down a bit. They scored a touchdown last minute and he jumped out of his seat, accidentally hitting Greg in the face. He's 49 now. And it does look weird considering he is the only one in the friend group that Greg touched, so he is the only 50 year old among a bunch of twenty something's. But luckily anyone who knew him before he was transformed doesn't seem to notice that he's much older than us. And funny enough, Pete now has a group of friends that are his age, but he still hangs out with us too.
I think all three of us had some pretty bad slip ups early on though. Greg went to a job banquet without gloves and ended up shaking hands with most of the men there. A significant portion of their staff have already retired because of him. Blake went to a concert without covering up, we have no idea how many people he transformed, but he thinks it could be dozens. I went to a gay bar and made out with a bunch of guys. Though it is nice to have every guy you fuck be jacked, it's not exactly ethical. I did also find out that my power makes their dick bigger too, I wonder if Blake and Greg's do too.
I have been thinking about it a lot lately though, i might just give up on ethics and just have some fun with it. At least mine doesn't do as much harm as Blake and Greg's do. I get to have fun and they get to have a six pack.
i outgrew flipped last year and screamed. after homecoming ive officially outgrown Sky High, which has been my favourite movie since i was like 3 and i am so not ready for that. by the end of my freshman year ill out grow Charlie Kelmeckis, Benny Weir and Ethan Morgan, all the girls from the Brats movie, and everyone in Sky High. not ready for it honestly
the fact that i'm no longer the same age as the protagonists of novels and films i once connected to is so heartbreaking. there was a time when I looked forward to turning their age. i did. and i also outgrew them. i continue to age, but they don't; never will. the immortality of fiction is beautiful, but cruel.
With men, there is never such a hype when they get old, and the same should apply to everyone else, full stop
This also includes being able to age. The more you are in the public eye, the greater the attention paid to the loss of youth by the general public.
We were born to die but no matter how old someone gets the true fire of lust for life can be seen in the eyes.
The eternal delusion of youth in our societies is like trying to catch the wind with your hands and then realising it's gone.
Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.
Benjamin Franklin
The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.
Vernus more or less
Everyone has the right to age as they like and to use every aid to make this as bearable as possible.
mod
Plastic surgery is the management of flaws, once one is removed the next comes to light. The state of perfection is therefore unattainable. It is okay for everyone to exhaust all means to come to terms with ageing. Even if you ultimately become grotesque to yourself, it's ok. The beauty of old age is based on a misconception coupled with the myth that wisdom is inherent in old age.
Youth is sweet and well, But doth speed away!, Let who will be gay, Tomorrow none can tell"
Lorenzo de' Medici
Stupid remains stupid - even age doesn't help.
mod...... Unfortunately, I had to watch it thousands of times.
“Quant'è bella giovinezza,
Che si fugge tuttavia!
Chi vuol esser lieto, sia:
Del doman non v'è certezza.”
Lorenzo il Magnifico
I don't know who needs to hear this, but especially with the end of the school year coming up soon, and a bunch of people about to leave high school or about to leave college, I just wanted to say:
Being an adult can be really nice, actually!!!
Like, okay, yeah, life can be fucking stressful sometimes, and there's definitely an annoying amount of paperwork.
But me and just about every single adult I know will agree: I would never choose to go back to being a teenager, even if I somehow could.
Insert obvious disclaimer that nothing is universal. But for people worried about aging or graduating into the next chapter of life, here's some words of reassurance:
When you're a teenager, your brain is extra mean to you. Like, neurologically. All of the changes it's undergoing really, really increase rates of depression/anxiety/etc. A lot of the time, literally just not being a teenager anymore is really good for your mental health
Less than five months out of high school, everyone I knew my age was like "Thank fuck we're no longer in high school." Once you leave high school and adolescence there's really just such a dramatic drop in petty bullshit. Shit that would have been a huge social humiliation or gossip in high school is really often just like, "Hate that for you, man." Boom, done.
When you're a teenager or a brand new adult, you're encountering so many problems for the first time ever. When you're older, you just. Have learned how to handle a lot more things. You know what to do way more often and that builds confidence
When you're an adult, other people generally don't care if you don't do things perfectly, because jobs and life don't work like grades. This was such a trip to learn, honestly? But when you are an adult or have a job the bar for success is usually just "Did you do the thing?" or "Did you do the thing well enough that it works?" or "Did you show up to work for your whole shift and look like you were doing things?"
Similarly, if you're about to graduate college and you're really stressed about it, fyi just about everyone I knew in college ended up very quickly going "wow, 'real life' is way easier." Admittedly I went to a school full of very stressed out perfectionists and the like, so I can't promise this is universal, but there's a very real chance that life will in many ways get easier when you graduate
WAY MORE CONTROL OF YOUR OWN LIFE
Literally I cannot overstate that last point. As an adult, you are (barring certain disabilities or shitty circumstances like abusive family/the criminal justice system/etc.) able to make most of your own decisions. If you want to rearrange your furniture, you can. If you want to eat tater tots at midnight, you can. If you want to get yourself a little treat, you can. You can sign contracts and make your own legal and medical decisions and not need a parent or guardian signature for just about anything ever again
You generally learn how to give fewer fucks
The people around you have also generally learned how to give fewer fucks
Even when things are shitty, being able to choose what kind of shitty a lot of the time can really be worth an awful lot
....I had my world rocked. Rolling In The Deep (Adele) came out in 2011...
12 years ago.
*walks out*
Fun fact, from 25 onwards, your reaction speed and hand eye coordination begin to decline. That's why most eSports teams were generally on the young side. A 30 year old is at an innate disadvantage compared to a 19 year old.
Aside from that— you're very much a different person now.
Remake
Is this a more common experience or am i just skill issue lmao
Hello, it's Christmas!
The day my mother expects us (her 20yr old range offspring) to wake up with the energy of when we were five!
Instead, we walk out of our collective rooms, cracking knees/ankles/wrists/fingers/toes/etc. And when we all give a collective "What?" at her dirty look, she chose to reply today with "You're all fucking crunchy, get younger!" before I walk out with a face mask on, my phone in one hand and a bag of jerky in the other to counter with "I identify as an 84 yr old man *cracks my neck like a clap of thunder from Thor himself* what do you mean?" directly before stuffing my mouth with beef jerky...
What a wonderful time of year...
Adulthood is so weird
When I was younger I wouldn't think of the costs of health care
And now that I'm actually older and need to pay everything sucks
Adulthood is so weird
When I was younger I wouldn't think of the costs of health care
And now that I'm actually older and need to pay everything sucks
Adulthood is so weird
When I was younger I wouldn't think of the costs of health care
And now that I'm actually older and need to pay everything sucks
Evolution of a Boxer ...
"Friends come and go, but their impact remains."
The legacies people leave behind in you.
My handwriting is the same style as the teacher’s who I had when I was nine. I’m now twenty one and he’s been dead eight years but my i’s still curve the same way as his.
I watched the last season of a TV show recently but I started it with my friend in high school. We haven’t spoken in four years.
I make lentil soup through the recipe my gran gave me.
I curl my hair the way my best friend showed me.
I learned to love books because my father loved them first.
How terrifying, how excruciatingly painful to acknowledge this. That I am a jigsaw puzzle of everyone I have briefly known and loved. I carry them on with me even if I don’t know it. How beautiful.
~Edit~
Yikes guys I didn’t expect this post to blow up.
I’m grateful it did though. Looking at all the comments and tags really takes a stab at my heart because it just shows how wired we are for connection. If life has any meaning, then it’s that.
This concept really sunk its teeth into me as it reassures the notion that no one is ever truly gone. Parts of them just change into you.
That teacher I talked about inspired me to become a teacher myself. This was my first year teaching. Here’s to a new generation of curved i’s.
No one can't convince me that your birthday cake is better the day after your birthday. there is just something about eating a slice of birthday cake the day after your birthday.