Living life to the fullest

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It varies for each of us. I started driving at 16 like everyone else. At 35 I've still never had a significant other, only dates/hookups/fwb.

I think if you want to put a general number on it that it's fair to say that we can expect things to come a little later in life as we're said to have an emotional maturity of 2/3rds our chronological age. So, at 35 it's reasonable for me to expect to be doing the things a 21-22yo might be doing. That sort of thing.

Some things I did early, others late, others yet maybe never.. and other things I've done others never well, and other things I will do others never will.. so, whatever. I think we each truly live our lives to the fullest when we're at our healthiest and doing things we want to do in life, whether that's in our teens, 20's, 30's, or beyond is going to vary for everyone - Aspie or not.

So that's why I act like a 20 year old. That almost absolves me.

No wonder I couldn't get into uni when I was 18. When I was 18 I was 12.

Yep. And it explains why I have a natural gravitation towards hanging out with people in their young 20's vs. my own peers. My development, in many ways, is more similar to them than people my age sooo of course we get along better. Some my age or older find that weird, but whatever, it's not their life.

Like other aspies, I also get along with children & old people very well, too. It's people right around my own age that I don't naturally mix with. Maybe I'm a bit too immature for them, but I'm sure it also has to do with me not having accomplished some of the "milestone," things expected of people in society. I've caught up and surpassed them in some ways over the last few years, but still.. my life is different than theirs. We don't have thaaaat much in common. I still have friends from my age group back during public school, but I never specifically seek out friends around my own age, and especially not dates.

I didn't get along with kids too well when I was a kid. It was a little bit of being immature, and a little bit of not feeling like doing "kid's stuff."

I've always gotten along with older people. Even as a kid, I liked sitting with the old ladies in the park better than, say, playing Batman with the other kids.

All I can add is just do whatever you like. Eff the rest! Your life, nobody else's business and it's really short to waste it!
I'm 40, I go to heavy metal concerts, I go to festivals and grasp I love clubbing as I can lose myself in dancing, I can forget about the world, the problems I have.
I am still experimenting with a lot of things. I worked ski seasons, I even learnt snowboarding when everybody around me was about 18. And this keeps me young. Nobody believes me when I say I am 40. Most of the time they think I am 28-29.

Living life to the fullest is the most important thing you can do. When you are on your deathbed how do you want to look back? "I did nothing because I was full of fears."?

This is what I learnt during the years, nobody is really watching you as everyone is concerned about how they look. Also if somebody still judged me, well they are free to do so. I have my own free will and it's up to me to react, to respond or simply let it go.

That's a good real of thumb but there are exceptions. There's an aspie guy at my work who married at 19 and yes, it's still a stable marriage. He also graduated with a high GPA, works faster than me, learns faster than me, more organized than me, etc. Now he's one of the few 25 year old parents who I think is actually fit to be a parent.

Of course there are exceptions. In some cases, I'm one of them. I graduated from business school when I was 19. But by 29 I was "lightyears," behind my peers in terms of career & finances. Now, 6 years later, I'm not exactly very advanced career wise, but I've gone from most indebted to having a higher net worth than most of my friends with the exception of those who managed to buy real estate and have had their properties increase in value dramatically.

Also, I now have drastically different goals in life (I want to go back to University for ~8 years) so couldn't possibly care less about not achieving goals & milestones that most others set for themselves. My goals are different, so comparing myself to the typical NT progressional stages through life is completely pointless.

I get having different goals. My problem is that my goals are always changing faster than I can realise them. At different stages of life I had totally different goals. If I had the same goals the whole way through life I could probably achieve them.

Oh, I definitely get that.. even just academically I've been all over the map! Business school w/ a bunch of industrial engineering in the mix in the past, trade school right now (with the goal being wage progression in order to finance a return to University - but if I make $x from the stock market I'll start school full time sooner rather than later) & next up I intend to go the Science route w/ a long term end goal in mind.

According to chronological goal timelines, had I had the goal I have now 20 years ago I'd have achieved it over a decade ago. Except in reality the probability of me achieving it would have been slim to none back then. I'm way more focused and capable of making it through 8 years of studies than I ever was, so, this goal wasn't supposed to come into my life until now.

Everything happens for a reason.. including having changing goals. It lets you try things, fail forward at them, and move on and learn & try new things.. eventually, if we get really lucky, some greater purpose presents itself to us and we get to stop feeling so aimlessly lost in our career & life paths. I've felt so very aimless for so many years and wished I had a true passion.. I didn't before & envied those who did. But now? Now I have that thing and I'm going to work towards it even if it takes me 15 years to pay for & achieve.

What's so intensive that it takes you 8 years of school to achieve? A PhD in accounting? Or did you drop accounting and decide to become a scientist instead?

I've never wanted to become an accountant. My accounting classes in business school were booooooring. My signature is in reference to the movie "The Accountant," starring Ben Affleck. Watch it if you haven't.

If I can make the grade.. Biochemistry & Medicine. If I can make the grade to attend the school I want to, it'll cost ~$180K for tuition & books. I figure if I have $250K I only have to work Summers and some weekends and can afford to go for 8 years. If I had that amount I'd quit my day job and go start in full time for sure.. however, I've recently been contemplating what amount I'd have to have to apply for full time school and just make a start.. like even if I can't afford all 8 years in cash up front, what if I could afford 5? Would that be enough to take the plunge and just get started and worry about how I'll pay for the last few years when I get to that point? The first 3-4 years dictate whether I can qualify for the next, anyways. And of course there's always the option of doing 4 years and then taking a year or two off to make money before going back again. Or of going into debt. Hmmmm decisions decisions.. lately I've been thinking if my accounts spiked to $150K I'd fill out an application for full time school & then decide closer to September. *shrug* First world problems.

Not just first world problems. I've met graduates from D world countries and wondered how they paid for it.

I think it takes a whole family working in sweatshops just to put one of them through university. If they fail their exams, then all their efforts will be for naught. Talk about pressure.

You might learn slow, RetroGamer----but what you learn, stays with you.

I'm a fast learner---but knowledge seems to "leak out" of me sometimes.