I'm going on 44 in a week. I'll tell ya something that was true
   for me at least: I got younger as time went on. I'd say I 'felt
   my oldest' between 19-24. One day I realized the problem: I was
   comparing myself to my "high school" self - I was "old for a 15
   yr old" but perfectly aged for my age. Then I was ok. But
   everybody's unique - just sharing from the 'other side'.
   Everybody's journey is different though and I hope you enjoy
   yours - I'm enjoying mine so far - always something new to
   discover smile emoticon == I wrote a few "letters to my future
   self". One of them I wrote when I was 17 yrs old, after sitting
   on a park swing late at night, choking up over the idea of
   losing my childhood. I dated it to when I was gong to be 42 yrs
   old. [you know, Hitchhiker's guide" and stuff) Well, I opened it
   up at 42 years old, about two years ago. And there it all was -
   all my fears and concerns, hopes and dreams of my 17 yr old
   self. I've done it a few other times as well. I should write one
   to my 88 yr old self - don't know if I'll make it - but I didn't
   know I'd make it to 42 when I was 17. But oddly enough, it
   seemed to cast a line into the far-off future that eventually
   came. Just a thought. == At 18, I started the 1st youth rights
   group on the young Internet . It was 1990. Y-RIGHTS - you'll see
   my name there. It's long gone but it spawned a few political
   groups and some parenting groups, some that exist to this day. I
   wanted to revamp the school system so it fit the outliers - the
   people that didn't fit in the bell curve. I still fight for it
   in my own way to this day. I vowed I'd never forget how hard it
   was. The Internet was the best thing for people. It gets them
   out of their isolated homes and communities and gives an outlet
   for ppl who are bullied, have shitty care-takers, life problems.
   I could go on. It's something I've always been passionate about.
   I know people who didn't make it past 6th grade. One boy I knew
   jumped off the school building. I knew why. School cracked him.
   He didn't have mental problems. The school system did. ==