Ageism. One of the last acceptable prejudices!!

yeah, it's true and unfortunately pretty sad. well, all prejudices are sad, are they not? i was watching "the bachelor" (yeah chortle at me all u like but i do like some cheesy tv and reality shows. i either find them entertaining, interesting OR so badly "funny" or "interesting" as in a train wreck or something of that nature. i know a lot of people like to watch silly or lame people to feel better about themselves. like jerry springer fans, most probably feel superior knowing that no matter what may be wrong in their own lives that at least they are nowhere near as "bad" or embarrassing as all the folks on springer.
oh. so as i was saying, i was watching "the bachelor" earlier tonight and i don't know the exact age of the bachelor guy but i DO know that he's in his 30's. maybe 35? 31? who knows. but the point is that he IS in his 30's and almost EVERY woman, or girl should i say is in her 20's, her EARLY 20's!! wtf is that?? why would a guy (or anyone for that matter) want to spend the rest of their LIFE w/someone who is a decade to 15 yrs younger!?? no, i'm not an ageist and sure you can have stuff in common w/people of almost any age and i'm not against people dating or marrying someone much younger OR much older. i do think age is just a number in many ways.
BUT let's be realistic here too....this guy is planning to MARRY whichever woman he chooses and how much can you have in common, but more importantly life experience w/someone who is a decade or more younger than your age? not to go back and forth, but again i'm ALL for learning new things from people and not being so identical in experiences that you are the bobsy (is that the right word and/or spelling) twins. i think that is one of the best parts of a relationship, turning each other onto your own views, tastes and experiences.
that being said, i think that people w/that big of an age difference will most likely not have enough in common or work out in the long term. an old best friend of mine used to always tell me that it's CRUCIAL to find someone who has a very similar life experience and even upbringing to yours. meaning that it can't be so foreign (in fact, she felt that if anyone fell in love w/a "foreigner" that it wouldn't work unless again you had very similar life experiences. i don't know that i would agree w/that. i think that relationships work out and don't work out based on sooo many factors and you can't pigeon hole everything to that degree. but hell, maybe she's right? i don't know) because you will basically never "get" each other enough.
ok back to the age difference thing: let's consider the maturity factor alone. HOW is someone in their early 20's (even if they are the most mature person in the world) going to have the maturity and even depth of a 30 something? they won't basically. THEN let's consider the changes factor. think of how much you change from your 20's to your 30's. what a different person you are. they say your 20's are for figuring out WHO you are and i agree. even if your tastes stay the same and so on, you don't. even your life usually changes hugely. because the more you live, the more you learn and the more you shift in who you are.
let's say that i'm a 28 year old woman and i get involved w/or even marry an 18 year old man, though i would still consider him a boy, emotionally anyway. again, could be a VERY mature guy and sure that might help a lot but in general.....of course, we could and probably would have all the attraction and chemistry in the world. the sex could even be mind blowing. well i would certainly hope so! :P and let's say that we have TONS in common, same film taste, same books, same sports, same music, even a very similar upbringing right? (and this may be an asinine statement due to the staying power of ANY relationship these days) but how long would it last? even if he has had jobs before and his own place briefly and maybe even been in love before, he would have VERY different experiences and views on those things. let's say he thinks you should blow every paycheck that you make and the money for rent or bills will "take care of themselves" when the time comes. OR (and this is very common) he is so new to relationships that he totally romanticizes them (i'm a romantic too, i get it. but i'm also a realist) and he thinks that love and relationships take NO work at all. it's just happy fa la la all the time and if you have to discuss or argue about anything or any problems arise, even about the toothpaste or whatever then he's like "oh this is too hard or we're not meant for each other because everything is not dream world every second". ha! i had one younger boyfriend who told me that it was a FACT that if you have to work on ANYTHING in a relationship or it is difficult for even a second that you just weren't meant for each other and there is a magical person out there that IS meant for you, where everything will just be peaches and cream and smooth sailing. haha. i asked him what he was smoking.
true there should be far more good than bad and if you're at each others throats about everything, you're probably not a great match but come on! it's like having a job. do you expect to go there and lollygag around and socialize all day and just get to your work if the mood strikes? of course not. to get almost anything good in your life, it takes work. hard work! and a lot of it. sure some people get lucky or i would call it more happenstance, because i think in general we make our own luck and the harder we work the luckier we get.
haha. here i am debating w/myself. but i was thinking all of these things (and more) while watching that show. who knew "the bachelor" was capable of inspiring deep thoughts?
ok i'm gonna stop rambling. i'm afraid they aren't going to save this, as i typed some last night and some right now. i should post it.