On Growing Old

"We are growing old", my friend said. He is twenty five.

“What !?!?”, was my first reaction. The next thought: “Well, if he is old at twenty five, I am no spring chicken!” Sad!

There is something about twenty five that scares people. I have heard people mention themselves as being on the “wrong side of the twenties” once they are past twenty five. At his twenty fifth birthday one guy said, “It is going to be downhill from here”. Really?

It is really difficult to put a finger on this one, but let me try. It probably works like this. Once you are 20/21, you are no longer a teenager which means you can proudly present yourself as a “responsible and grown up” person. Nevertheless, most people are still in college and parents are providing for their comforts. These are interesting years. You are not really responsible for anyone, not even yourself, but have ample freedom to chart your own course. In other words, time is on your side and you do not seem to give a damn about the world.

Things change when you hit 25. It is sudden and it gives you little bit of a shock. You watched Maria Sharapova win the US Open, she is 19, and wondered: where am I? Some try to act young, hang out with people still in the early twenties and shy away from the reality. Others go through something called the Quarter Life Crisis. Still others use the interesting dictum: “age is just a number” and move on.

I am not sure what I am going to do when the dreaded number hits me next year. It is probably going to be worse than usual since I am still working for a degree!

P.S. The same afternoon, I met two alumni of my undergraduate college. One of them asked me when I had graduated. The answer had them smiling to each other and one of the gentlemen remarked, “Kids!”. Wow, finally some cause for comfort!