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When Does Growing Stop and Aging Begin?


July 20, 2021
Following up from yesterday, today's title offers a simple, provocative question that challenges the typical societal narrative that says: You can't grow and age at the same time.

We’re comfortable saying to a fifteen-year-old, “My, how you’ve grown?” But we don’t say that to a sixty-five-year-old, mainly because we’re fixated on physical, not personal growth. And, of course, we will never say to that fifteen-year-old, “Wow, you’ve aged since I last saw you.”

I sort of hate this question because it suggests growing and aging are not simultaneous, but I’ll ask it anyway:

What’s the precise age when most people tend to notice someone’s aging more than their growing? Is it 25, 45, 65, never?

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