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The Half-Century Mark and the Myth of Knowing It All
At almost 50, I’ve realised adults don’t have it all figured out, we’ve just got really good at pretending
With the big 50 looming this year, I’ve hit a peculiar milestone: I simultaneously feel like I know everything there is to know about life … and yet absolutely nothing at all.
When my mum turned 50, I was 23, a fully-fledged adult who obviously knew everything. Or so I thought. Now, here I am on the cusp of my own half-century, married with kids, surely at the point where I should be a beacon of wisdom and knowledge.
The truth is, adults are just kids with driving licences and permission to buy alcohol (not my words, but very true). I don’t feel much older or responsible than I did at 20. Yet somehow, society insists that I’m a Responsible Adult™, one capable of solving problems, managing crises, and knowing where the remote is.
Laundry List of Mysteries
But ageing has its perks. Over the decades, I’ve picked up a few nuggets of wisdom, and while they won’t change the world, they’ve changed my life. For example:
- You can say “No” without justifying it. People don’t need to know why you’re not baking cookies for the school summer fete or…
