Musings On Age
- By Yu Lam Yau
- •
- 30 Sep, 2019
While having turned fifteen earlier this year in February, I don’t think I’ll ever come to terms with it. In fact, personally, after about thirteen, age seems to lose its meaning, though I predict I’ll place some significance on my eighteenth birthday. The rest of the years in between, however, seemingly pass by in a blur, marked only by one day each year when I receive debatably deserved gifts and am allowed to consume an excessive amount of cake, candy, and carbs.
Not to say that I don’t give much thought to my age or the topic of age in general, more so that in the grander scheme of things, the ultimately relative nature of age simultaneously perplexes, confuses, and disorients me. For example, a perhaps unusual thought that occurred to me not long after turning fifteen was that assuming I will live past adolescence (only half-joking), I’d be halfway to thirty! Considering how fast the past fifteen years have gone, it wouldn’t really be that far away. Some may consider this much too sobering or even morbid, but I choose to view it from an entirely realistic and determined perspective. As someone who actually looks forward to independence and self-reliance, I welcome it with open arms, but at the same time, I cannot imagine what will happen on the journey there.
In the same vein of thought, it also led me to think about the number and magnitude of expectations placed on the young people of today. Just being human is tiring enough, but with the added pressure of school and employment, stopping the imminent extinction of all species on Earth due to climate change, facing prejudice for being “too young”, and being expected to maintain emotional, let alone physical stability while juggling all that, is demanding, to say the least. The current double standards towards young people within society require us to be academically and financially successful, but often overgeneralise young people as lazy, irresponsible and incompetent, placing conflicting stigmas on associations with age.
On the tangent of relativity, it also struck me that in America, I would legally be able to drive next year. This, surprisingly, is more of a cause of fear and disbelief than excitement for me, because a. I’m completely sure I would panic during my driving test and accelerate instead of brake and b. I feel that the level of trust and responsibility included in a driver’s license would be inappropriately bestowed on me. Not to perpetuate age discrimination against young people, but the difference in the perception of maturity astonishes me so much, the implications of which are beyond my imagination.
So, what am I trying to say? Ultimately, meaningful implications don’t necessarily attach themselves to these random and jumbled thoughts, but if there is one thing to take away, however cliché it is: while age, depending on who you ask, might not be a construct, but the correlation between age and competency is definitely one. So yes, live in the moment and try your best. Not to be interpreted as YOLO, or doing regrettable things in the name of youth, take these mottos and view life not as a series of age “milestones”, but rather a succession of moments, and making the most out of each of them, because remember - everything is relative. To quote Horace, who most famously said this, carpe diem.
