We had a funny conversation at work today.
We were discussing how old we thought people were and one of my co-workers told me she thought I looked 19. I pointed out that seen as though I spent 4 years at University this would be completely impossible! But regardless of that I found it interesting that she thought I was younger than I am.
Most of the people I have met online have said at one time or another that they were shocked to find out how "young" I am. I must come across as being older than I am for some of them even had me in my 30s! Yet in "real life" people always seem to think I'm far younger than I am - I was even asked for ID at my Sixth Form Prom (bearing in mind the school had signed a form saying we were all old enough to legally drink!)
I can understand why the girls at work think I'm younger than I am - as an unqualified assistant working in a nursery where the majority of the staff are between the ages of 17 and 20 it's only natural to assume that I am the same age. The people who are older than that are either much older (say by 20 years) or are in higher positions and so it is obvious they are older (as in they must have done more training!)
But it's interesting how I feel "old" at the nursery - compared to feeling "young" most the time. You see, many of my close friends are older than me. My best friend is in her 50s. Many of those I love are in their late 30s early 40s. So, normally, I feel very young.
So this got me to thinking... people often say that when they were young 35 seemed "ancient". For some reason I never really took age that much into account when I thought of "old". To me - if you had grey hair and were a grandparent, you were old lol! I'd never come across a Grandparent without grey hair and if you had grey hair but weren't a Grandparent - well you were still old regardless of your actual age!
The only time age came into account was when I distinguished between children and adults. If you were 18 you were an adult. I longed to be 18. Now I wonder why I was so eager to grow up! As a child I thought by 23 I'd be married, have a house and my first kid! Although I still want those things, the age at which it will happen is far less important! In fact, age has become so far from my mind that when people ask me how I old I am I have to stop and really think about it - I know within a couple of years but the exact age I am sometimes loses me for a moment or two - how strange!
It's funny how, as children, age is so important to us. I guess it's because at such a young age a year makes a BIG difference. Once you reach your 20s it's not as big a deal. There's no longer the excitement of "I'm now in double figures" or "I'm a teenager" or later "I'm officially an adult and can do this, this and this!"
My birthday is coming up and as is the pattern of late I haven't got anything planned. I miss those days when the excitement would build up a couple of months in advance. Now life seems to take over and its upon me before I know it! A few years back, in an attempt to regain the "magic" I had a sleepover for my birthday! It was fun - really fun - but it didn't hold the same "awe" as it did when I was 11 and able to have friends stay the night, deciding when we went to bed and what we did before we fell asleep! I do that on a daily basis now LOL
I think I'm rambling and I have lost all sense of where this post was going... it's a funny old thing is age, isn't it!
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