“I have 30 years.”
Not *“I am 30 years old.”
That’s how the French say it.
And what a beautiful way to think about age.
We often see age as a marker of identity — a number that supposedly defines where we should be. But what if age, like experience, is something we carry — not something we are?
It’s not something you are, as if it defines you.
It’s something you have — like a collection of seasons, lessons, and stories you carry with you.
Because age isn’t just a number.
It’s not a milestone.
It’s not a linear path toward wisdom or maturity.
At 20, someone might carry the calm and may already hold the wisdom of an octogenarian
At 44, another could still be dancing with the follies and stumbling over with the recklessness of their 21- year-old -self.
Experience doesn’t automatically arrive with age.
Maturity doesn’t come gift-wrapped on your birthday.
They arrive when you earn them — through choices, challenges, and change.
Maturity isn’t always linear. Growth doesn’t always follow a calendar.
Experience doesn’t just happen — it’s what you do with your years, not how many you’ve counted.
So when someone asks,
“How old are you?”
Pause for a moment.
And instead of saying “I am 30…”
Consider saying, “I have 30 years.”
Then ask yourself:
What am I doing with what I have?
The next time someone asks your age, think not of what you are, but what you have.
And more importantly, what you’ve made of it.
video Crédit courtesy to the respective creators @atfrenchies at instagram reels.
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