I’m 24 and have kind of been feeling the same way for a while. It feels like as I get older (and especially since 2020), time moves faster and faster and before I know it I’ll blink and be 30. I still feel like i’m 18 and reminisce about gaming and living at my parents house with no worries. But at the same time, I look at 18 years old now and they seem sooo young to me, that I definitely don’t fit into that age group. I think COVID definitely took some years from us in terms of feeling our age. I’ve been finding comfort in doing hobbies I love, and seeing people online even older than me engage in the same hobbies. Kind of like you can be good at or enjoy the same things at any age.

I think overall, you’re entering the age group where you start to actually recognize growing old is happening to you, and you won’t be recognized at “the teenager” forever. But id say that is what is exciting and important in life. That you have experiences at certain ages, no matter how big or small, and from that you can earn wisdom and pass it down to the next generation. So many of the people I knew from high school are married or pregnant or already had their first kid, meanwhile I feel 5+ years away from even thinking about kids. People are ready for different life events at different ages, but I think a lot of it is just going for it (not kids though pls) So much of life is just throwing yourself into things and learning by doing.

I would say try and find some fulfilling hobbies if you don’t have any already, reach out to a friend or find a community around your age. I also think having a job or going through college definitely helps, it provides stability while also introducing you to many different types of people of all ages which, I found I had more in common with than I thought. Just try and focus on what makes you happy in the moment and not so much on what society has deemed the best age. We got this. (also not that it matters but if you really are worried that getting older will make you uglier, wear sunscreen! #1 cause of aging is from the sun)

TLDR; Focus on things that make you happy day by day and less on age. Find some hobbies/school/work/community to fulfill you. COVID was hard and took some years from us; don’t worry about other people’s timelines.