It's been 12 years since graduation, and I just realized I have nothing much to show for it. Is this normal?

So are you bragging or whining?

Neither. Just wondering how many people are in a similar situation and have meaning, purpose, hope, and something to look forward to besides retirement.

It sounds like you have quite a bit to show for it - a 6 figure income, an almost paid of home, your health, hobbies, etc.

Quite a few of my peers that graduated in 2010 have nothing to show but crippling student debt, negative net worth, and they can pretty much forget about ever owning their own home.

Also wanted to mention that I'm looking for fun, excitement, and a break from the routine. It seems like not too long ago, the people around me were doing things like trying to start their own band, trying different foods or recipes, or doing stunts/challenges like attempting to ride 1,000 miles in a day on a motorcycle.

But now, all the novelty is gone. It's more like "I sat in all weekend and watched re-runs" or "I went to Home Depot to find X blocks of wood in size Y, but they didn't have it." Ugh. Boring.

760 a month in retirement income not from social security is more than most will have.

Start a family. I enjoyed the bachelor life for 10 years after school - traveling whenever I felt like it, tons of free time, hobbies for days. But I didn’t ever feel perfectly content until I had kids, something I had no interest in for the longest time.

Get a dog dude, cheer up

I just feel like I'm past my peak, directionless, and stuck in a loop, if that makes any sense. Inflation has eroded my (barely) 6-figure income, my house needs costly repairs like a new roof and nuisance repairs like clogged drains, my PR days might be over, and I don't have the time or money to really get into my other hobbies.

In the past, things were new, and goals were clear and more frequent. There were races to win and colleges to get into and graduate from. You progressed by one grade every year, and even reaching your 18th and 21st birthdays made you feel like you accomplished and earned something. Making the travel squad and competing out of state was new and exciting, and so was that first solo trip out of the country, first full-time job, first home purchase, and so on. Now a lot of that is gone.

Or get laid.

stop measuring your life, start living it

If you feel like you’re past your prime in running and that’s generating some malaise, why not try other athletic activities where you have tons of upside by having been a runner forever?

I got into weightlifting (the throwing barbell overhead kind) a year ago and it’s immensely rewarding to make progress in a new venue and feel like you could crush your runner self. There’s no need to give up running, just put it on the back burner and strive to be good at something else. Or lots of things - I mix it up quite a bit. Take up a martial art, just something with a high skill ceiling that will take years and years to master and is hard to grow bored of.

Or challenge yourself to learn languages, a scientific discipline, something like this. You have quite limited time to explore probably .00001% of what humanity has generated with its minds and hands.

Looks like you have some things to show, like you almost payed of house which is huge.

Life is what you make of it. If you like mountain climbing do that more. Find a group for weekly bolder sessions and do climbing trips with them. Work on your climbing skills and go for a bigger mountain somewhere in the future.

If you like chess do that more. Go to some chess camps and/or join a club. Do competitions.

Whatever floats your boat, do just that a little more.

It's not important what you have to show somebody else. Just do stuff which makes you happy.

I'll admit that some of the problem may be me making excuses for things, but it seems like a lot of activities that bring me joy are locked behind paywalls or timewalls (for lack of a better term). Flying small planes? Costs too much. Learning new languages or instruments? Don't have the time to see significant progress and often have to spend a good portion of time re-learning material. Ski/snowboard trips? Eats up too much of my vacation time.

I just wish that I hit a big jackpot so that I can spend the rest of my life having fun and doing exciting things. But realistically, that's never going to happen, so I'm mostly stuck in the same old loop indefinitely with little progress on anything.

You're just a typical everyday guy. Not a big success, not a total loser. Nothing notable. Carry on and see it through, get it over with.

Humble bragging. Just like the guy who says that the average American can train to a run sub 15:00 because he did it and he feels there's nothing necessarily special about himself.

Yes, life is boring most of the time.

It's all downhill after 30.

That’s what the dog is for.

You’re well ahead of most. $100k is about top 10% in terms of income. And that includes every age. And most people making that are over 50 so age wise you’re probably top 2-3% for income. I make a little more than you and I am class of 2012 but I have zero savings. Mostly by choice and starting a family in 2010 has been a considerable expense.

Other people who graduated with me are making $50k or less. On average, if you look at wealth over time you don’t start “having anything to show for it” until your mid 40s. Mostly because that’s when you start making enough to enjoy life and have savings. Moral of the story is don’t worry about it. You’re doing the right things and life always works out.