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Will is meant to be a little bit older than everyone at this party, a continuing trend from his party with Larry a few storylines ago. You can kind of be in your 20s for 20 years in New York, particularly as a man, and nobody will really notice. But clearly Will notices, and it makes him irritable. He is, as the drunks point out, way too serious to hang. |
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As a guy past that age, partying with early 20-somethings is also an irritant in and of itself even if you're not defensive about being old (I like my age). The things coming out of their drunken mouths are the same oh so stupid and cringey things you said when you were that age, and that makes it like toothpicks under the fingernails. (If you're not somewhat embarrassed about bits of your 20-yo self, you're someone who doesn't learn.)
However, I know you can't say it – you can't tell people you made those mistakes, they have to make their own mistakes to learn. If I say anything about glorious plan to drop out of college and move to an upstate farm with the guy you just met in your Marxist theory class I'm just the guy who's being a 40 yo know-it-all downer and dick because he doesn't understand how you're who the universe revolves around. And why harsh their dreams?
So that dynamic between seeing yourself again but not being able to say anything about it, like a time traveler who can't change the past, means it's much more comfortable to hang with people who've already made their big mistakes.
Wow you sound like you're made of projection there. What's there to be embarrassed about if my 20 year old self never did anything in the first place? Some of us never had the frat boy idiot phase. Hearing stories of my father was enough to convince me away from that.
As a result, I also still don't go to drunken parties, so I don't even interact with 20somethings to hear these particular oh so stupid and cringey things.
Learning from mistakes is healthy, and I think everyone makes mistakes at any point in their life, just in general
I was very open about this being projection and quite personal in pretty much every sentence I wrote. This is not accusing you of X while secretly wanting to do X.
And if you think you didn't make any dumb mistakes as a 20yo – not necessarily the 'waking up naked on the police chief's car hood' type, just the sort that you kind of shake your head later, then you're the non-learning type I mentioned.