Continue Reading Below Advertisement

"So ... uh ... menstruating yet?"

But even with the Steves of the world, you have these little reminders -- they still can't legally buy alcohol or be caught with it, they're legally bound to local curfew ordinances, they can't go into the clubs that you can. And all of that teenager stuff you used to get away with -- sneaking beers behind the backs of your parents, etc. -- the kind of stuff that would get you grounded back then? If you get caught doing that shit now, your ass goes straight to jail for corruption of a minor. In a hundred different ways the world is telling you, "Move on, dude, this is getting creepy."

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

But there's another side to that coin. When you get into conversations with people just a few years older than you, they're still fucking treating you like a teenager.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

You're not taken seriously on any adult subject because you have virtually no life experience yet. Your political opinions? "Yeah, that's what I'd expect from someone your age. You'll think differently when you're older." Opinions on raising children? "Yeah, you'll laugh at what you just said when you're 30 and have kids of your own. Hell, you're still a kid yourself." And don't think you can just earn your way out of it -- if you are successful in your career right out of school, that just makes people resent you more. They'll look at you and your advanced work position and say, "I wonder who he's related to?"