At 40, I am convinced that we cosplay as adult characters to hide our inner child, mostly from ourselves. Some seem to allow the stresses of life and responsibilities to make the mask indistinguishable, but I doubt any truly make it real. Do you wear the mask of age over the eyes of your inner child? Does age hold a meaningful value to you beyond the comradery of shared experience?
I’m 50. I like to pretend that I’m 50 when it comes to work, but my friends and even a few long time coworkers know that I’m just a big kid. I genuinely feel more comfortable hanging out with younger people most the time. Aside from the occasional ache or pain, age just feels like a number to me.