Compare Contrast Old/Young Essay, Research Paper

Compare/Contrast

Old/Young

There are many similarities as well as differences between elderly people and young adults. Older people seem to be more set in their ways. They also seem to know much more in general about most everything. Young adults, on the other hand seem to have a much broader outlook on life. The most common factor in both of these groups it seems is the overwhelming knack for being narrow-minded.

One of the strongest examples I can think of to show that the elderly are more set in their ways is their attitude concerning music. I have noticed that as people get older they seem to become intolerant of anything new in the music world. They somehow get stuck in the sounds of their youth, and can?t understand ?the music of today.? Young adults on the other hand seem to enjoy a much wider range of music and are much more tolerant of new sounds as well as the music from their grandparents era.

Another strong contrast between the elderly and the youth is their outlook on life. Young adults are more optimistic about the future, whereas their counterparts are more pessimistic (realistic). Example: You will hear from the majority of young adults, ?I will be rich someday? but an older adult will say, ?Money isn?t everything, I?m looking forward to retirement.?

Young adults as well as the elderly both think they know everything. The adage ?Wisdom comes with age? can be a very true statement. It is a natural assumption that as we live longer and experience more in life, we would become wise to the ways of the world. The funny thing is, this does not always happen. If you listen to the elderly, many do become wise; but many others (as with music tastes) seem to get stuck in their youth, but yet think they are all wise. They can?t seem to see the world changing around them. Young adults, because the world is changing so fast and information is so readily available, do know a lot more than their grandparents knew at the same age. The problem is that too many of us will allow ourselves to ?get stuck? in our youth as well.

Older people seem to get set in their ways. They get comfortable with a certain pattern in their lives and do not like this pattern disturbed. Young adults on the other hand are much more adaptable. Most enjoy spontaneity and look forward to new experiences. Both groups are stubborn about this issue and want everything their way.

The extreme of the stereotype of the elderly would be, someone who has lived to be the ripe old age of 80 and says (without putting it into words) that they know everything. They have no tolerance for anything new. People like this seem to be very bitter toward life. The extreme of a so-called typical young adult would be one who at 20 thinks they already know everything they need to in life. No one (especially and old person) can tell them anything about life. People like this seem to turn into the old, bitter person mentioned above.

What it all boils down to is time, experience and most of all the willingness of old and young alike to learn and share with each other. I know I can learn much from my elders, I hope they see that they can learn much from me.