On being 26….
Posted on | November 3, 2008 |
The time has come when I have to admit that I am truly an adult (according to age at least) and the era of early-twentiesdom has been and gone. Does this matter? Not really, but it still makes me feel strange. I’ve decided the reason for this is the future perfect nature of age. The future perfect tense is ‘will have x’: hopefully by 36 I will have had children; by 40 I will have achieved tenure at a good academic institution; by 80 I will have enjoyed a good long life etc. etc. When I was a teenager I looked to no further than my twenties, and had lots of future perfect hopes regarding that apparently far-off time. Actually if I think of my younger self looking at me now, I realize that I’m doing pretty much what her daydreams consisted of - and more. But as I’ve got older, more external expectations concerning what one should be doing at what age have affected me enough to worry occasionally about the stage I am at in life: does it matter that I don’t have my own home at the age of 26? That I am a student once again and will be one until my early 30s? That it will be a long time until I receive a salary, let alone a decent one? My overall conclusion is that these things don’t really matter at all (and could even be celebrated), although it’s good to be aware of them, at least as alternatives by which to judge whether or not I’m doing what I want.
I am doing what I want…but I still feel strange being 26.
I’m pleased to know that others too have been preoccupied with reflections on their life and achievements upon reaching the seemingly insignificant age of 26: you can see Sam’s own 2006 blog post for an example. This is clearly serious stuff!!
If you’re interested in seeing how I celebrated this momentous occasion, click here.
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