As the seniors are graduating, there’s a feel of both stress and excitement throughout the school. And it’s causing some thoughts about our progression through life on how we feel about getting older.
It’s practically common knowledge at this point that plenty of people want to be treated and feel older, but don’t want to get older. Especially as we hit middle and high school, we want to be seen as older, then as we get older, we want to backpedal. But why is that? Do our minds subconsciously show us all the fun things about being treated older, but then as we do, it presents us with the horrors?
Why do we want to be TREATED older?
When we’re younger, we have a desire to be treated like adults. This is partially because kids live through observation, and they usually want to be more like those they “study,” such as their parents or older siblings. Beyond that, they get a sense of independence from feeling older, making them want freedom. Kids also have admiration towards future responsibilities, such as getting a job or buying a house. Built within these responsibilities is a sense of privilege: getting to do things that they couldn’t before, being driving, drinking, going in restricted places, and more (Pico).
Why don’t we want to GET older?
As we get older, however, we long to go back to our childhoods. And a lot of us fear, or at least have a bit of anxiety towards getting older. This is because of a variety of things, one of which that’s causing an impact is the fear of a health decline. People are afraid of the possibility of aching bones, dementia, cancer, strokes, heart attacks, and anything else associated with old age (Talago).
Expanding from just physical and mental fears, media is also playing a key factor. With everything on social media, newspapers, and advertisements working on finding things that give an “ageless look” or “prevents signs of aging,” we’re left to believe that getting older is a bad thing, and that we shouldn’t welcome it (Talago).
Another big thing that people fear with aging is death. It’s a matter of the older they get, the closer they feel to death’s door. They may also get a sense of feeling they may not leave the world with an impact, or didn’t achieve everything they want to in their life. People also tend to regret choices they’ve made, the ones they didn’t make, and those pieces of their life that brought them where they are today (Gould).
Conclusion
Getting older is a natural thing that we shouldn’t fear, but do. It’s not knowing what may come next for us that makes everything so scary yet exciting. So, as you grow up, try to think of it as getting to experience more things, and not just as getting older.
Works Cited
Gould, Wendy Rose, and Ashley Peña. “Why Aging Triggers So Much Anxiety for Many People —And How To Cope.” Verywell Mind, 26 March 2026, https://www.verywellmind.com/why-are-we-so-afraid-of-aging-11935020. Accessed 27 May 2026.
Pico, Iván. “Why Do Children Want to be Adults and Adults Children?” Psicopico, 2025, https://psicopico.com/en/por-que-los-ninos-quieren-ser-adultos-y-los-adultos-ninos/. Accessed 27 May 2026.
Talago, Liz, and Brandy Chalmers. “Fear of aging: Why getting old seems scary & how to cope.” Rula, 7 November 2025, https://www.rula.com/blog/aging-fears/. Accessed 27 May 2026.
