What Turning 40 Has Taught Me About the Meaning of Age
And why it’s total crap.
I turn 40 this month.
And I am not one of those people obsessed with my age and wondering what have I done with my life yadda yadda. The weirdest thing for me is that I don’t feel 40.
But what does that even mean? How do you feel like a number?
I’ve thought about this a lot over the years. I have a baby face, so I have always looked younger than I am… and have a young spirit to match.
After some contemplation, I realized it all comes from this set of societal expectations. The assembly line of life events that you think you need to have by certain ages. Which I definitely think is strange and can really mess with your head if you let it.
I’ve always beat to my own drum. When I wasn’t in school or doing homework as a kid I spent most of my time playing outside in the woods. After college, I moved to Europe for 2 years instead of going right to grad school or getting a “serious” job. And even as an adult, I’ve changed career paths at least three times as I’ve grown and learned about the things I wanted in a career, and what I didn’t.
But this is where it feels so strange. According to this assembly line, 40-year-olds are married, have kids, own a house, and are celebrating 15-ish years in a career. Maybe they even have a second home somewhere in the country where they spend their weekends.
I don’t have any of that.
I have a serious partner, we have a dog, we are renting our cute little house and I just started my own consulting business in science writing last year. And I have zero regrets. My life journey has given me amazing experiences some will never have.
I’ve lived in 3 foreign countries and traveled to Latin America, New Zealand, Europe multiple times, and Mexico. I have friends from all over the globe who I still am in touch with. I’ve learned so much about myself and my passions that I could only discover when traveling alone.
The truth is I just feel more like a 27-year-old than a 40-year-old. And that is when I decided I am perpetually 27. It’s a joke, but I’m also serious.
This all just proves that age really is just a number. A way to track how long you’ve been on earth.
People and society may try to tell you that’s something more, like a marker of where you should be on your journey. But that’s total crap. Some of us take the scenic route because what’s the rush? But we all get to where we need to be in the end.
The key is remembering no matter how old you are or where you are in life, you are exactly where you are meant to be.
And to trust your own process and life because in the end, age is just a silly number.
