I had a real "Matrix" moment early this morning
I was dreaming that I was 18 and had to drive to school to pick up my A-Level results, I then woke up and for a couple of seconds I WAS 18 and worried about my results. Then 14 years worth of memories flooded into my mind and I remembered that I was 32 and I had to get up for work.

Then my radio alarm clock went off and the news said it was A-Level results day, I honestly didnt know that it was. The strange thing was that I felt relief at not being 18 again.

Would you want to be 18 again?
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:32, 52 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Yeah I suppose so,
I'd possibly be less of a dick second time round.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:33, Reply)

I think I would be more of one

( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:36, Reply)

I reckon I'd be a lot cockier
less fat too.

19-28 so far have been much better than 18 though.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:37, Reply)

My problem with 18
is that although I was an adult, I had no money or real freedom. I went to university but that doesnt count. It's only in the last couple of years that I have felt comfortable in my own skin (if that makes any sense?)
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:51, Reply)

Nope.
18 was shit.
23 is where it's at, I'm having a great time.
( Cawl, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:33, Reply)

Are you only 23?
I always imagined you to be older
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:35, Reply)

same here!

(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:36, Reply)

he certainly smells older

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:37, Reply)

Yeah, I'm "only" 23.
But I'll probably die when I'm 50, so I'm nearly half way there.
( Cawl, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:41, Reply)

Sorry if that sounded patronising, it's what old gits do without realising it
I remember a work colleague saying to me when i was 22, "I dont know, all these kids with cars..."

I had been driving for half a decade by that point
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:43, Reply)

Nah, it's not patronising,
Haha!
I'm pretty much an old man in a young man's body.
And he wants it back.
Well he can fuck off.
( Cawl, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:44, Reply)

Probably better than being a young man trapped inside an old mans body.
As I said, I thought you were older which is why I was surprised when you said you wanted to be a teacher, but 23 is the perfect age for that. Good luck (and dont become a cunt ;p)
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:48, Reply)

Thanks :D
I'm already a cunt though.
( Cawl, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:49, Reply)

I thought you were in your early 20s
but mr vit c thought you looked younger than that (no idea why we were discussing everyone's ages) :-) he's an old man though, so to him everyone younger than 30 looks like they should still be at school.
( ascorbate, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 13:00, Reply)

I certainly thought you were a couple of years older than me.
And I've met you!
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:02, Reply)

I would not be 18 again
I would be 19 again. 19 was good.
31 is where it's really at though...
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:37, Reply)

I wouldnt want to be 19 again either
I still cared what people thought of me then
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:41, Reply)

I did too,
but not when I was drunk. And I was drunk a lot : )
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:47, Reply)

I think my drinking peaked at 19
I then realised that drinking = hangover, and I fucking hate hangovers
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:57, Reply)

My hangovers in my teens and 20s were hell and could last days.
Despite drinking equal amounts of alcohol nowadays, my hangovers appear to have improved. *touch wood*
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:06, Reply)

Mine have got worse
or I tolerate them less
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:16, Reply)

Only if I could know what I
know now. Could be fun to go back but I wouldn't want to just repeat that year.
(MichaelS wasn't picked again, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:52, Reply)

That was the problem with my dream
I was 18, not 18 again with 14 years of experience. Which is probably why I felt relief when it all came flooding back to me.
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 11:55, Reply)

Only if I could be 18 again with the mindset I have now.
I was scared of my own shadow back then and would burst into tears at the slightest jibe. Now I have no patience for cuntishness.
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:00, Reply)

Yup, youth is wasted on the young.
I wish I had been a bit more laid back (or just a bit more laid)
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:02, Reply)

The worst part of it is that I still have access to my livejournal from that era
and I was a whiny bitch who needed to MTFU and do something about the grief she was getting...
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:07, Reply)

When I was 18, the internet was only just becoming a big thing
and luckily I didnt keep a diary..."Why wont girls go out with me?"...boo fucking hoo
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:15, Reply)

More like "why won't she leave me a-fuckin'-lone?" in my case
... I only keep it to remind myself that the only solution to problems is to MTFU and get on with it.
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:25, Reply)

I was frightened of my own shadow too
I'm not much bigger nowadays, not really physically stronger, I'm no more able to fistfight than I was then, but mentally I'm completely different.
I was still stuck in that 'bullied kid' mentality. I didn't want to offend anyone in case they hit me or hurt my feelings.
Now I realise it doesn't matter at all. If someone is a bastard who's going to give you a thump for standing up for yourself or disagreeing with them, they're also going to do it if you sit in a corner tying not to offend them.
You're just as likely to be mugged in broad daylight as you are when you're rotten drunk at 3am with your earphones in, spilling onion bhaji all over yourself as you sing country songs. Or maybe less so because you exude confidence and and air of 'don't-fuck-with-me'.
I'm still scared of scallies with dogs though...
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:17, Reply)

Oh yes, and living where I do the scallies are most prevalent. Damned Trashford.
The thing I hate is that they only have the dogs to make themselves look hard :( I'm tiny so only an absolute coward would pick on me, or so you'd hope...

The bullied kid mentality is very hard to escape from, and I'm a prime example of that. Getting there though. Slowly.
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:24, Reply)

I think I'm over it
In fact, I I wander round thinking I'm invincible most of the time. But I'll never throw my weight around or intimidate nice people, because I can just about remember what it's like not to be able to stand up for yourself.
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:34, Reply)

I'll be a lot happier
when I get to where you are. I internalise a lot of my emotions (especially at work) and that's not helping. When I have music on, which is constantly when I'm out, I do feel invincible (a trick I learned from my flatmate, who doesn't give a shit what anyone thinks of him).
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:37, Reply)

Music saves
; )
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:40, Reply)

That it does :)
*dances in the kitchen to the Timewarp*
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:47, Reply)

*taps nails on keyboard*
workin' niiiine to fiiiive!
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:49, Reply)

Oh, now I know what I want to put on next!
*likes having the flat to herself*
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:55, Reply)

I'm 18. I kind of wish I was 15 again.
15 was pretty awesome.

I'd do this year again, though. Work harder, play harder.
( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:08, Reply)

You're sick of this question no doubt
but how did you do? :)
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:11, Reply)

AABB
Disappointed - had a chance to retake something last year, I missed Greek by 13 marks. I could have got 13 marks on that paper, easy. And I got two Es in a subject I'm really good at. So remark teims! But it's enough to get me into uni; I'm fine :)
( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:39, Reply)

Woo and yay for you!
*tacklehugs* So gutting about the Greek, I can totally imagine how pissed off you are about that! Definitely go for the remark, though; we did that with French GCSE and it turned out a lot of us - not me, sadly - had been undermarked enough to put us up a grade...
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:41, Reply)

If it had been a dream about being 15 again
I think it would be classed as a full blown nightmare *shudders*
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:13, Reply)

Same here.
18 was bad, but 15 was over 9000 times worse.
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:26, Reply)

16 was pretty bad for me
I wouldn't like to relive that. Or if I did, I'd cunt myself in the fuck.
( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:43, Reply)

18 was shit for me
in fact, 9-20 was awful, 20-21 was ok, 22-27 has been great. this is linked to being bullied throughout school and for the first couple of years at uni, then going abroad for a year at 20-21, which was fun, and where I met mr vit c, then 22-27 was all about real study and moving nice and far away from home!

so, I would not like to be 18 again, and my best years have been 25 and (so far) 27.
In fact, if I believed in any sort of deity, I would thank him or her every day that I never have to go to school again.
( ascorbate, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:56, Reply)

I agree wholeheartedly with this last line.

( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 12:57, Reply)

Hear effing hear...

( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 13:00, Reply)

does anyone
these days, truly believe that 'schooldays are the best days of your life'?

actually, some tragic bastards I was at school with do. which means to me that their life has been shit since school. which is good.
( ascorbate, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 13:02, Reply)

This is also true.
I've steadfastly blocked as many people as I didn't get on with on Facebook, and those who I am still in touch with have the common sense not to invite me to Old School MASSIVE!!!11 groups...
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 13:04, Reply)

yep
our 10 year reunion was earlier this year, and I didn't go, but saw who did - and it's all the same bastards who made my life a misery 10 years ago. they all still live in the same area, many are married to other people from school, most have menial jobs which they went into immediately after 6th year - it's deeply gratifying :-) there were a few of us who were horribly bullied in our year, and I would say that most, if not all, are now living as far from glasgow as possible, and having good (ish) lives.
( ascorbate, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 13:07, Reply)

The best revenge is a happy life.
Or a Gattling crossbow.
( Maladicta, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 13:21, Reply)

I knew as a child that phrase was a load of bull
My mantra was "you won't be a kid forever, you won't be a kid forever".
Sad to think you have to wish away your life like that, but I knew that when I became a 'grown-up' I'd be free, I'd be able to stand up for myself, and I'd STILL be able to act like a kid if I wanted anyway :-P
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 13:05, Reply)

my father
always said 'it's said by people who know the rest of their lives will be disappointing - look back at them in 10 years time, and see who has achieved the most'.

damn him, he was right!
( ascorbate, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 13:09, Reply)