16 Surprisingly Amazing Things About Getting Older, According To People 60 And Up

We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community what's surprisingly great about getting older, and here are their wisdom-filled answers:

1. "I am 66, and I no longer feel the need to please others. So many years and tears wasted trying to make everyone happy. It’s now a complete freedom to live my life void of others' approval."

— edgymoon514

2. "I've actually stopped caring about what anyone thinks of me, personally. I spent decades not being 'pretty enough, smart enough, good enough,' and now my attitude is 'Screw it, I'm enough as I am!'"

— ladicair

3. "Not having to shower and put on clean clothes and makeup if I don't feel like it because I don't give two fucks about what people think about me anymore."

—70, Germany

4. "There are plenty of things that were expected, especially things like financial security and a better understanding of who I am, but the one thing that caught me by surprise is how I now consider so many things just day-to-day minutiae that no longer matter to me. I still love watching certain sports, but I don't care about analyzing the statistical data like I used to. I used to read several science magazines outside of my field, now I'm satisfied with summaries of what's happening. It's the same for so many things."

"It's a combination of 'You can only control what you can control,' and, as David Lee Roth famously said, 'There are two rules to living well. The first is, don't sweat the little shit. The second is, it's all little shit.'"

— markh63

5. "I can be rude as hell and it doesn't matter. If a shirt is ugly, I'll call it ugly. I'm a rude old lady, and this is the version of me I was always meant to be."

—76, Canada

6. "Feel like a kid again because, by some fluke, I managed to pay off everything before retiring. Now I'm just paying property taxes, homeowners insurance, and utilities."

—68, US

7. "No more hustle, no more grind. Just retirement, peace, and bliss."

—Anonymous, 66

8. "Being able to just fiddle fuck about with no need to hurry at all."

—68, US

9. "I love this age! I'm 63, and I feel better and look better than ever. Kids are out of the house, debt paid off, time for travel and hobbies. Hubby is more fun and got a little extra money for some fun stuff. I don't have to eat at McDonald's anymore— unless I WANT TO! Sure, I have arthritis, but I can deal with it."

— crunchyhawk74

10. "The best thing about getting older for me is not having to work for a living anymore. My wife and I are financially independent and live a comfortable life. I never liked working for someone, but I didn’t have the courage to strike out on my own, so that left being someone’s employee and they get to tell you what to do."

— sidneykaler

11. "At 60, I’ve stopped caring what others think about how I dress. I am alive and kicking, and I dress to please only myself."

— sassykitten30

12. "I love having the pleasure of telling people that my goal is not to make goals anymore! I'm retired!"

— lazydaisy90

13. "At age 69, I finally met the love of my life, and we are traveling around the world together. We take a college course to study the history of every country we visit. We are romantic, fun-loving, and as sexy as we ever were."

— llindahen

14. "I'll be 82 next month and still work at a golf course in the summer. I work out every other day and ride my stationary bike. It's tough, but I will keep going for as long as I can. I also have a motorcycle. This is what I think: Keep moving because if you don't, you're done. I love LIFE!"

—anonymous

15. "I enjoy having perspective. There were so many things I worried about when I was younger that I now see I shouldn't have spent the time worrying about. I'm 71."

—anonymous

16. And finally, "I don't know for sure just yet, but I sure am looking forward to all those senior discounts kicking in next year."

— bloodwynne

Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.