HIGH LIFE: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Maturity Can Set in at Any Old Age
Anyone whose image of “old” is limited to Methuselah or Rip Van Winkle is obviously lacking in the imagination department. As any teen-ager knows, the term can be applied to nearly anyone who’s been through the cap and gown ceremony. High Life asks, “At what age do you consider someone old and why?”
“When they reach their 40s, because that’s the age of most of my peers’ parents. At that age, our parents already show signs of senility.”
Everett Yee, 18,
senior, Marina
“If I were to meet a 25-year-old male, I would speak to him like a father, whereas if I would meet a 19-year-old, I would talk freely.”
Rima Simaan, 17,
junior, Trabuco Hills
“21, because at that age, you’ve got babes with mileage.”
Matt Flynn, 17,
junior, Huntington Beach
“When they’re unable to go to the restroom by themselves.”
Alex Blanco, 16,
sophomore, Brea Olinda
“Old is a state of mind. If you moan about it and feel sorry for your wrinkles, you are old. If you take your wrinkles for a sign of wisdom, you are a fountain of youth.”
Brooke Weaver, 17,
junior, Edison
“When they nag and complain how expensive gas, movies and various other items are.”
Bruce Howe, 17,
junior, Trabuco Hills
“Thirty-five for women, because it’s when their sexuality has peaked. It’s probably about the same age for men, because that’s when the paunch starts to set in.”
Eric Passchier, 17,
senior, Mater Dei
“Ages past 60 are old, but that doesn’t mean that people that age act old.”
Mike Smith, 17,
senior, University
“When you don’t remember things, your hair falls out and you get a lot of mileage out of the phrase ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.’ ”
Cheryl Kubota, 17,
senior, Marina
“When they feel they know enough to stop learning more or when they don’t want to learn more.”
Dao Vu, 18,
senior, Mater Dei
“One is only as old as he/she feels.”
Sumana Krishnareddy, 17,
senior, Huntington Beach
“When your kids have kids.”
Mike Jacob, 15,
freshman, Capistrano Valley
“If music is too loud for you.”
Brian May, 17,
junior, Edison
“Forty-nine, because that is when people start complaining about the music, and telling the ‘Nam and napalm stories.”
Sasha Strauss, 16,
junior, Huntington Beach
“Sixty-five, because they’ve normally retired and are kicking back and enjoying life.”
Eric Johnson, 17,
senior, El Dorado
“Seventy-three, because up until that age you can do almost anything you want. People get tired at 73.”
Zabina Bhasin, 14,
freshman, Connelly
“Eighteen, because I’m 19 and I feel really old.”
Chris Coleman,
senior, Sunny Hills
“When you want to be old. Even though you might be old in age, you can still be young at heart.”
Kara Dietz, 17,
senior, Brea Olinda
“When someone loses the kid in them.”
Micah Krueger, 17,
junior, Edison
“About 50, because that’s when their sex drive goes down the drain.”
Steven Koo, 17,
junior, Brea Olinda
“Forty, because when you turn 40, it’s dangerous to have a baby.”
Jenny Hsu, 17,
junior, Connelly
“Seventy, because from that age on, most people can’t be on their own; they need help.”
Carmen Rodriguez, 17,
junior, Connelly
“I’m not sure there is an ‘old.’ Aging and maturity is a process, not something that happens all at once.”
David Lin, 18,
senior, University
“When they are 47 1/2, because they have gone through the midlife crisis and they begin to nag their kids.”
Jon Detterich, 18,
senior, Mater Dei
“Age is something that is in the mind. Some people who are really young feel really old because of their outlook on life.”
Arthi Meyers, 17,
senior, University
“Mid-40s, because it’s my parents’ age, and they have a lot of white and gray hair.”
Monique Nguyen, 14,
freshman, Los Amigos
“Thirty, because they already have a business and are done with school.”
Elaine Hse, 18,
senior, El Dorado
“Eighty, because my great-grandma is losing her strength.”
Diep Tran, 15,
sophomore, Los Amigos
“Definitely after 21, because when people move out and get a job, they have their own responsibilities, and they mature.”
Shirley Calev, 17,
senior, Trabuco Hills
“A person is too old when they give up all their dreams and hopes and forget the child within.”
Blake Entwistle, 17,
senior, Capistrano Valley
“About 60, when they start growing gray hair. They probably have a lot of money because they are retired. They don’t have to go to school anymore.”
Jose Arizmendi, 15,
freshman, San Clemente
“There is no specific age for old. It just depends on how a person acts.”
Mifty Sandord, 15,
freshman, Los Amigos
“My dad is old because he is 45 and doesn’t have that much hair.”
Christina Viljak, 15,
freshman, San Clemente
“When they’re dead.”
Steve Kim,
senior, Sunny Hills
“Forty, because that’s the turning point in someone’s life.”
Steve Harkless, 16,
junior, St. Margaret’s Episcopal
“When you can’t have fun.”
Christine Reins, 14,
freshman, Katella
Next Week’s Hot Topic:
Is tagging different from other types of vandalism? Why or why not?
Responses were gathered by Caroline Lynch (Mater Dei), Hallie Kim (Brea Olinda), Yana Yanovsky (Edison), Veronica Lee (Marina), Jennifer Chau (Los Amigos), Eileen Hsu (University), Heather Cox (Connelly), Morgan Howard (Huntington Beach), Sunshine Arena (El Dorado), Mandi Hernandez (San Clemente), Julie Kim (Capistrano Valley), Michele Hainley (Trabuco Hills), Nate Barksdale (Sunny Hills), Brooke Lyons (St. Margaret’s Episcopal) and David Fitzgerald (Katella).