Millennial woman reveals 'The Shift' she felt at 35, and so many of her generation can relate

Tod Perry
Fri, 25 Jul 2025 14:43:32 +0000
Aging, Millennials, The shift, 30s, Realizations, Aging realizations, Everyone is young, Am i old, Am i getting older, Millennial aging, Being 35, Young doctors

There’s something so satisfying when someone can take a phenomenon that many of us feel and, for the first time, put it into words so we can better understand it. A Millennial woman recently coined the term “The Shift” to describe the moment she realized that a growing number of people in positions of responsibility were younger than her, and it struck a chord with many in her generation.

Once one has made “The Shift,” they begin to realize that the people who, ten years before, were teenagers, are now in their late 20s and have responsible positions in life. They are lawyers, police officers, parents of young children, and teachers. It’s like realizing that your besties' younger brother or sister is all grown up and has a family.

What is The Shift?

The woman shared her experience on the Millennials subforum on Reddit, and many of her cohort were in total agreement because they had just made The Shift, too. “Did anyone else experience ‘the Shift’? How old were you when it happened?” she asked before describing her moment.

A smiling young dcotor holding a clipboard. via Canva/Photos

“I was a new patient at this particular [doctor’s] office,” she wrote. “The doctor walked in the room. I took one look at him and thought, ‘OK, this guy looks really young. Must be a medical assistant/ intern or something.’ Nope. He was my doctor. Through casual conversation, I would come to find out that he was 33 years old…My doctor was two years younger than me.”

This realization kicked off a shift where she began to see the whole world differently. "I’d be watching the local news and realize how incredibly young everyone looked—the reporters, the meteorologists, etc. I started noticing how young the faces looked on billboards for local attorneys and realtors,” she wrote. “It’s so bizarre and difficult to explain. Logically, I know that people younger than me can be in all of these professions, but my brain just can’t seem to grasp the jarring reality that the cohort of ‘grown-ups’ now includes people who seem so young to me.”

At what age do people realize they're getting old?

A woman with hands over her mouth. via Canva/Photos

The post inspired others to explain the moment they experienced The Shift.

"For me, it was one event. I work as a firefighter, we got a new batch of recruits in in their early 20s, doing some on the job training and one of them says 'you know, I remember you, you came to my school for career day in 4th grade!' I felt my body disassemble itself, I looked in the mirror later and just realized that I was older."

"I am a former professor and it was the transition from students not being alive for Clinton’s presidency to not being alive for 9/11 that really did me in. My pop culture references also all died on arrival."

"I’m 38 and my husband is 39. A few weeks ago he commented that cops have gotten so much younger and I had to correct him that they’re starting at the same age they always did were just older. I pushed my husband into the shift but I think it was time."

"When professional sports players started to get younger than me. A 20-year-old kid playing professional hockey, I told my husband that is an actual child not a grown up."

"For me it hit when I wasn’t the youngest in my department at work anymore. Now I’m in the middle to older group."

As people age, they often feel like they are mentally 25, although their body continues to age to the point where they have a hard time even recognizing themselves. When The Shift happens, it's jarring because it’s a reminder that we’re no longer just getting started in life and that we’re now part of the established, older generation. The Shift may hurt a bit, but it’s also a great reminder that life comes at you fast and to get to work on achieving your goals, because time waits for no one.