It's different.

It's way better in some ways - especially if you find a good career in a field you're passionate about.

But some of the responsibilities of adulthood are a burden that is hard to appreciate until you're there. And the perspective gained by life experience is also very different, for better or worse.

For instance, I went through a breakup last year at 39 with someone I was fully expecting to marry. It was my first major relationship failure in decades, and as I was being dumped I expected it to crush me.

What ended up hurting the most was that it didn't hurt that much. I didn't spiral into depression or fall apart at work. I wasn't happy about it, but I was fine. A younger me would have been overwhelmed by the emotional toll, but the adult me was able to keep moving forward without breaking stride.

And in a way that's what hurts. The passion of youth has been tempered by a lifetime of experience that puts everything into perspective.

They're the good times because you see you had no responsibilities and endless potential to be so many things, which becomes less and less true as you age. Of course, it's miserable too not knowing what you are/what to do and feeling lost because you have no responsibilities, so it's really just a grass is greener thing I imagine.

my life has definitely just gotten better as I’ve gotten older.

I'm guessing 20s-30s then? Cos Once you hit 40s things start breaking and falling off.

For me, school was a shithole that I was glad it was over, those were not the good years. Things are not perfect, but they have gotten radically better ever since.

The only thing about school that was good is that I made a few very good friends. Those are probably going to be life long friendships.