(Note: I use AI to help me translate my stories from Japanese to English.)
People pay attention to their age. Besides physical age, there is also something called mental age. People often say that someone has a high or low mental age.
I feel that my mental age is low. Sometimes I feel like I am still a child.
Do you know the American singer and dancer Michael Jackson? He was called the King of Pop and is regarded as one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
Michael wrote the following words in his book:
“I feel old for some reason.”
“I really feel like an old soul, someone who’s seen a lot and experienced a lot.”
“Because of all the years I’ve clocked in, it’s hard for me to accept that I am only 29.”
He started performing when he was 5 years old. At 9, he became a professional singer, and at 13, he began his solo career.
Because of his early debut, he could not spend a normal childhood. He did not have many chances to play with other children.
By the age of 29, he may have experienced a lifetime’s worth of things. That may be why he felt old.
There is an English tutor in Japan who is now 75 years old. She had been a housewife for more than 20 years. At 46, she started studying English seriously, and at 53, she became a professional English tutor.
In her 20s, 30s, and 40s, she raised her children and took care of her mother.
At 46, she discovered that English was her passion, so she studied it very hard.
She started working for the first time at the age of 53. Compared with most people, she started working about 30 years later. However, because of her late start, she said that she could work with a fresh mind.
Some people say that earning money from work makes people become adults. Work can make people mature or feel older.
I know two Japanese scholars who earned a salary for the first time when they were around 30 years old. They both look young.
I once attended a speech given by one of them. He was in his mid-60s. After finishing his speech, he spread his arms wide like airplane wings and walked off the stage while pretending to be an airplane and making buzzing sounds.
I was fascinated by his attitude. I thought, “I want to become like him someday.”
He looked very happy and playful. He seemed to have the mind of a child.
Work affects people’s mental age. Many people think that starting work early is always good. However, there are also disadvantages to starting work too early.
If you worry that you started working late, remember the English tutor who started working for the first time at the age of 53.
If you started working early, remember to keep a beginner’s mind.