Never 'Act Your Age'

# Never ‘Act Your Age’<br><br>We’re told from a young age to act our age. To grow up. To be mature. And we’re often forced to learn how to act, to be other than we are. We’ve all heard this. We’ve all been here. So why do we grow up and then tell our children to do the same? Why do we do the same things as our parents, when we know it’s wrong?<br><br>I’m twenty-seven years old, and I’ve thrown most of my toys away. I’ve never had all that many. And I’ve learned to be a ‘grown up’. I’m mature most of the time. I’ve learned to be smart and to do my homework. But ‘growing up’ isn’t an absolute thing. Growing up is different for everyone. <br><br>So why is everyone expected to be the same? Why is everyone expected to be mature? To act their age? What does it even mean, to act your age? How are we supposed to ‘act’? We all act differently. Everyone is different. Yet we’re all expected to be the same. And we’re expected to be the same at the same time as everyone else. It doesn’t make sense.<br><br>Growing up can be seen as a series of lessons. We all learn how to walk, to talk, to read and to write. We all learn how to ‘act’. But to me, growing up is about other things. To me, growing up is about living your life as you see fit. It’s about doing what you want and being who you are. You’ve got to learn to grow up, on your own.<br><br>We’re all going to make mistakes. We’re all going to mess up. And we’re all going to have regrets. But that’s part of growing up. That’s part of being human. It’s part of being alive. So don’t be afraid of mistakes. Don’t be afraid of age. Don’t be afraid of life. <br><br>And that’s why we all need to ‘act our age’. Because that’s the only way to life, and to die, happily. So live your life as you ‘should’. Be who you are. Do what you want. And never ‘act your age’.