As a fellow wishy-washy Libra (not that I believe in all that, but am I ever a typical one! ;-), as well as both an editor and a writer, I resonate with so much of this.
At 61, I'm still trying to figure it all out. How to not say yes when I'm too busy, how to express myself so people will at least understand what I'm trying to say, how to face the climate crisis and the deniers without becoming completely overwhelmed — even what I do for money, which has evolved over time (since transitioning from tech to clean energy, every career move I make has resulted in lower pay!). In some other countries, people don't feel as defined by their jobs, and it can even be rude to ask people what they do. Here, it's the first thing we ask. I see that as a problem. We should be defined more by who we are and how we behave.
Although I haven't figured everything out and feel like I should be farther along at this age, one great thing about getting older is a feeling of freedom from a lot of the expectations of society. We're social animals, so I don't believe people who say they don't care what others think of them — but I care a lot less than I did before! When people don't understand what I've written, on the other hand, I feel like I've failed.
Ah, Rosana, I love your point about the importance American put on jobs and identity, which makes me think, again, of that American professor trying to convince a majority UK/European student body of the importance of it! And this tension between being not-understood in person vs. not-understood on the page really resonates. I'm suddenly thinking too about the pressure so many of us put on ourselves to produce perfectly on the page, whereas I am sometimes more forgiving of myself as a 'draft,' and 'in-progress' being in person...so interesting, I hadn't considered all this before. Thanks for sharing.
As a fellow wishy-washy Libra (not that I believe in all that, but am I ever a typical one! ;-), as well as both an editor and a writer, I resonate with so much of this.
At 61, I'm still trying to figure it all out. How to not say yes when I'm too busy, how to express myself so people will at least understand what I'm trying to say, how to face the climate crisis and the deniers without becoming completely overwhelmed — even what I do for money, which has evolved over time (since transitioning from tech to clean energy, every career move I make has resulted in lower pay!). In some other countries, people don't feel as defined by their jobs, and it can even be rude to ask people what they do. Here, it's the first thing we ask. I see that as a problem. We should be defined more by who we are and how we behave.
Although I haven't figured everything out and feel like I should be farther along at this age, one great thing about getting older is a feeling of freedom from a lot of the expectations of society. We're social animals, so I don't believe people who say they don't care what others think of them — but I care a lot less than I did before! When people don't understand what I've written, on the other hand, I feel like I've failed.
Ah, Rosana, I love your point about the importance American put on jobs and identity, which makes me think, again, of that American professor trying to convince a majority UK/European student body of the importance of it! And this tension between being not-understood in person vs. not-understood on the page really resonates. I'm suddenly thinking too about the pressure so many of us put on ourselves to produce perfectly on the page, whereas I am sometimes more forgiving of myself as a 'draft,' and 'in-progress' being in person...so interesting, I hadn't considered all this before. Thanks for sharing.