Imagine this:
Imagine you are in a room. In this room is also an object. This object is something you have always wanted and it is the greatest, most beautiful version of this particular object.
When you see this object, you eagerly run over to this object. Unfortunately for you, right before you reach it, you run into an invisible barrier. You walk around this barrier, trying to find a gap so that you can reach the object you want. But, no matter how many times you walk around this barrier and where you poke and prod it, there are no gaps to be found. Not even a tiny crack can be found. So you give it one more lap just to be absolutely sure. You still don't find any gaps or cracks. With this upsetting revelation, you walk away. You leave, thinking "What's the point in trying to get it? I obviously wasn't supposed to have it."
That is what happens when I try and show any sort of empathy. I usually get told things such as "Oh what do you know? You're only in your 30's." Yes, I am in my 30's. However, that does NOT make my experience, of any situation, any less. I might have experienced it a little bit differently and could have some valuable advice. You might not get that, now, simply because of how I was treated.
So, here is some advice...for free: Before you dismiss someone's advice, simply because of their age, remember this: it might now be complete rubbish. They are offereing you a different view of the same situation.
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