The Ageless Age. - by Princess Chronicles

Father… I’m 28. Is it too late for me to go back to school?Her voice barely rose above a whisperThe church was almost empty. The evening Mass had ended a few minutes earlier, but the smell of incense still lingered in the air. A few candles flickered before the altar. Somewhere in the distance, someone was arranging the hymn books. Father sat beside her on one of the wooden benches, his rosary slowly moving through his fingers. He looked at her. Then at the rosary. Then back at her. “My daughter, who told you that you are late?” She didn't answer. Nobody had actually said it. She had simply heard it so many times that she started believing it herself. She had wanted to go to university for years. Life, family and money happened. One delay became another, and somehow, the years kept moving. At 28, watching people her age graduate, get jobs, relocate, get married, start businesses. And every time someone said, “At your age?” Something inside her sank a little. She had started believing she was too old to begin. Meanwhile, somewhere else, a 22-year-old was lying on her bed scrolling through TikTok. “Come with me to buy my first plot of land at 23.” Scroll. “Come with me to buy my first car at 25.” Scroll. “A day in my life as a 21-year-old CEO.” Scroll. “Come with me to Kenya at 19.” Scroll. She dropped her phone. Sighed heavily...with tears building up in her eyes.Looked at the ceiling.Her own life looked like a failed project. “What am I even doing with my life?” Omo. Social media will humble you if you don't know how to use it. 😂 You can enter TikTok looking for entertainment and leave feeling like you've wasted your entire existence. Someone is buying lands, getting married, launching a company, travelling, graduating, making their first million. And somehow, because you are both 23, you start using their timeline for your life.You need to stop! STOP! You need to decenter your age. You have given the number too much authority over your life. You are 23. So? What exactly did 23-year-olds everywhere agree to achieve before their birthday? 😂 Who wrote the handbook? Who sat down and decided: At 18, you must know what you want. At 21, you must graduate. At 23, you must have a job. At 25, you must be earning big. At 27, you should own a house. At 30, marriage. At 35, children. And if you don't follow the sequence? “You are behind.” Behind who? Some people started early, late. Some people had support or had to support themselves. Some people knew what they wanted at 16. Some people are still figuring it out at 29.Some people spent their twenties surviving. Some spent theirs learning. Some were dealing with things you knew absolutely nothing about. And some? They simply took a different route. That's why one habit I think we need to cultivate is this: When you see someone's achievement, go back and check their timeline.Don't just look at the destination. Look at when they started. Look at the years nobody was watching. Look at the failed attempts. Look at the first ugly version. Look at the period when nobody knew their name.Sometimes, you're comparing your chapter two to somebody's chapter twelve. And you're calling yourself a failure. Please. Know your season. That person who bought land at 23 may have started saving at 18. That person who built a company at 21 may have been learning the skill since 15. That person travelling the world may have a completely different financial reality from yours. Their achievement can inspire you. It should not become a weapon you use against yourself. And this thing works in the other direction too.If you're 28 and you want to go back to school, go. If you're 30 and you want to learn a new skill, learn it. If you're 35 and you want to start a business, start. If you're 40 and you finally know what you want to do with your life, do it. Because here's the funny thing about time: Those years will pass anyway. You can be 30 and spend the next five years worrying that you're too old.Or you can be 30 and spend the next five years becoming the person you wish you had started becoming earlier.At 35, both versions of you will still be 35.One just has five years of progress. And then there's another side of this conversation we don't talk about enough. Sometimes, society has actually made the problem worse. You see job openings saying: “Applicants must not be above 25.” You see someone who spent extra years in school because of strikes, financial difficulties, family circumstances, or a disrupted academic journey being told they are now “too old” for an opportunity. Four years of university can become five.Five can become six. And somehow, the system still expects everybody to emerge at exactly 21 or 22 with a perfect CV and three years of experience. Abeg, which Nigeria? 😂 There are realities people are navigating that cannot be measured by a birthday. So yes, be realistic. Plan. Set goals. Know where you're going. Build yourself. But please don't turn your age into a prison. I once heard someone say they didn't even like celebrating their birthday anymore because they felt there was nothing to celebrate at that age.Nothing? You woke up. You're alive. You're still learning. Still becoming. Still breathing. Still capable of changing direction. And you looked at a number on the calendar and decided there was nothing worth celebrating? Omo. We need to talk. Your age is information. It is not an instruction. Let it tell you how long you've been alive. Don't let it dictate how much life you are still allowed to pursue. So the next time you see: “I'm 23 and I just bought my first house.” Clap for them. Learn from them. Scroll if you want. Then put your phone down and ask yourself: “What am I building in my own season?” And if you're 28, 30, 35, 40 and you're thinking, “Maybe I'm too late…” Please remember: Late is still better than never. Decenter your age!

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