17 Questions From People In Their Twenties, Answered By People In Their Thirties

    A few twentysomethings had burning questions for us olds, and we decided to answer that call.

    by Erin La Rosa, Kristin Chirico, Alex Alvarez
    Kristin Chirico for BuzzFeed

    Alex, Kristin, and Erin are three ladies who have some experience with being over 30. So when we saw that our poor twentysomething friends had some questions for us thirtysomething folk, we decided to answer the call:

    1. “Are you actually in your sexual prime?”

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    Alex Alvarez: lol

    Erin La Rosa: In my twenties I dated heinous monsters because I had no sense. So I'd say thirties has been better, sexy wise.

    Kristin Chirico: I'm actually in my Optimus Prime.

    2. “Will I ever stop calling my mom every day for advice?”

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    Kristin: Yes, but then she will just start calling YOU to ask for advice.

    Erin: I call my mom every morning, and on the way home I call my best friend. I'm still just as needy.

    Alex: Never. You will always need your mom, and you will also slowly turn into her.

    3. “Do you actually know what you’re doing or do you make it up as you go…?”

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    Alex: The latter, definitely.

    Kristin: I still don't know what I'm doing, but I think I've gotten better at keeping that fact a secret.

    Erin: I feel like I ~kind of~ know certain things. Like, I know how to save money now, but I still don't know to wait for my Starbucks to cool down before sipping it.

    4. “Do you still borrow money from your parents?”

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    Kristin: OMG NO BUT DON'T JINX ME. Great, now I'm freaked out. THANKS, YOUTHS.

    Alex: I don't.

    Erin: No, but if my parents offer, I don't say no! My mother, Sheila La Rosa, always says: "If someone gives you money, take it and say 'Thank you.'" THANK YOU.

    5. “What’s the deal with emotionally unavailable men?”

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    Alex: Dating in general is tough in your twenties because you're still changing and developing a sense of what you need and want…and definitely DON'T need or want. If someone is unavailable in any sense, move on. They might change on their own, but why stick around and wait?

    Erin: RUN FROM THEM. J/K, but not really… Plus one to what Alex said, if a man isn't making himself available, then he isn't interested enough to make the effort. And you deserve someone who's interested and going to make the effort — they're out there, trust me.

    Kristin: I am going to get a lot of shit for this, but the ages of 20-29 is not a good look on a lot of dudes. So dating them during those ages can be like trying to eat an unripe avocado: You'll spend way too much time trying to peel the rind off of it, and even when you do, it's just going to taste like garbage and will be too hard to mash into guacamole. That said, my boyfriend is 28, so what the fuck do I know.

    6. “Does life go on? Also can I drink two bottles of wine and be OK?”

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    Alex: It lurches on in a sort of halting, sputtering fashion. Wine helps grease the wheels.

    Erin: Two bottles? IDK about that. I mean, shit...

    Kristin: You won't even be able to drink ONE bottle of wine and be OK. And life goes on whether you want it to or not, unfortch.

    7. “Do you know who Ariana Grande is?”

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    Erin: How dare you?!

    Kristin: No. When you turn 30, they actually confiscate the dial off your car radio to make it so it's permanently stuck on NPR.

    Alex: I drank one this morning.

    8. “Can I expect my chest hair to grow to its full potential?”

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    Alex: Yes, mine is full and lush.

    Kristin: Yes. Chest hair is the Tracy Flick of hairs, which is a reference that you do not understand.

    Erin: Still waiting :(

    9. “Does hanging out with people get less exhausting?”

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    Alex: Kind of, actually. You become more selective about the people you hang out with. Friendships in your thirties are about quality, not quantity. And drinks.

    Erin: Now that I'm in my thirties, I've stopped going to clubs — yes, we thirtysomethings at one point may have been closeted club rats — so, in that regard, it's less exhausting.

    Kristin: Yeah, it gets less exhausting, because you stop making yourself hang out with people who do shit like use your purse as a barf bag.

    10. “Do the hangovers get any better?”

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    Erin: I think I've stopped getting hangovers, actually? Or I just stopped drinking two bottles of wine? See my answer to No. 6 above.

    Alex: I don't get hangovers! But I've heard other people my age groaning about them from under their desks, so.

    Kristin: They get so much worse. You can get a hangover from not even being drunk. Your hangovers also start to specialize; for example, my red wine hangovers are truly starting to become things of terrifying beauty.

    11. “Will people still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?”

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    Alex: No.

    Kristin: If you're a chubby person, then yes — your face fat will keep you looking pretty much the same until you're 40. But then you're more or less boned.

    Erin: No, but that's OK — pizza is love now.

    12. “Has your relationship with your parents changed at all? Also: When you do you stop giving a shit?”

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    Erin: Mine has! I used to get upset with my parents over petty shit, but I've started to let that go. They're even older than 30 (if you can believe it), and they're not going to change, so I've learned to accept who they are more. Also, I give zero shits about everything except food. I care deeply about food.

    Kristin: I'm a lot more forgiving toward my parents about things that happened in the past — like, I don't rake them over the coals for stuff from 20 years ago, because 20 years ago they were close(r) to my age, and I would have done the same crap. But on the other hand, I don't tolerate garbage behavior the way that I used to when I was younger and more scared and broke. Nipping things in the bud quickly goes a long way toward good relationships.

    Alex: I have a better sense of how terrifying it must be to be a parent, and how they always tried to do the very best they could. I love them more, and also differently. As for shit-giving: I've stopped giving a shit about most things, and I've begun giving more of a shit about a few things. It's awesome.

    13. “At what point am I supposed to get off my parents’ cell phone plan…?”

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    Kristin: If you have a good relationship with them, and their plan gives you a better deal, then stay on it for as long as you can. That's just good business.

    Erin: I'm hoping mine just never notice, tbh.

    Alex: I think when we're all, like, 105? Give or take a few years.

    14. “Do you actually feel any older than you did in your late twenties?”

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    Erin: Not physically, thanks to the miracle of ~low lighting~.

    Alex: I've always felt ancient.

    Kristin: No, but I do feel less dumb, like I've shed the mid-twenties stupid that hung around me for years. Not everyone is afflicted with that, but I was.

    15. “Are you still paying off student loans?”

    Alex: No, thank the goddess.

    Erin: No. All my money goes to food and booze now.

    Kristin: HA HA HA HA WOW YES but I went to grad school. Don't go to grad school. I feel like this is a topic that I'll feel less depressed about at 40.

    16. “Janet or Madonna?”

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    Alex: Janet.

    Kristin: JANET.

    Erin: JANET. HOW DARE YOU?!

    17. “Do the gray hairs come gradually or all at once…?”

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    Alex: They arrive gradually. And everywhere.

    Erin: I once told a friend that I'd never seen a gray hair on my head, and then she told me that she had, LOL. So for me it was all at once!

    Kristin: The gray hairs come gradually. The anxiety about them comes all at once.