It wouldn’t be entirely fair to blame Britney Spears; Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, and Justin Timberlake were all the same age. And we can’t even say it was modern media whores and over-achievers who put the pressure on. Michael Jackson was pre-pubescent when his first (slash let’s be honest all) albums went platinum…
But the idea of child prodigies we can handle. It’s almost dismissible because it’s so freak. Oksana Baiul the 15-year-old Olympic gold medalist. That 4-year-old whose modern art was worth millions. Doogie Houser, M.D. They’re not real people — they’re Today Show segments. We’re not in competition with them, we’re in awe of them, therefore we don’t have to feel bad when they beat us before we were aware it was a race.
Where we run into trouble is that the Beatles were in their early-twenties when their “mania” set in. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won that Best Original Screenplay Oscar at 25. That 28-year-old Jared Kushner guy runs The Observer and dates Ivanka Trump. And the guy who writes almost everything that comes out of our president’s mouth, also 28.
Major success is now open to our age group — open and not shocking.
Publish a book at 16 and you’re a phenom of the literary world; get it in around 20, a bright, shining star; 25 – still way ahead of the curve; 30, Oh, she’s 30? Why is that part of this book review? Everyone is 30.
The Wunderkind ship is sailing, and while there’s always more room on board for true, true talent – the ticket holders are checking I.D.s, opposite-day style.
No – you can never be too old to accomplish something incredible. Colonel Sanders started K.F.C in his 60’s. But you can very easily be too old to accomplish something incredible, young.
This semi harkens back to that annoying quarter-life crisis convo we had earlier, but this time focuses in on the fact that part of the oh shit! around this age range is that gnawing pressure to have gotten further, faster – to have ended up a headline at pre-25 so you can relax from 26-36 while everyone else catches up.
But more than just the one-up-on-life feeling I imagine early success produces, there’s the incredible motivation that comes from the cheering section unique to a particularly young runner. “Wow, you’re starting an mobile media company at 23?! I’ve got to introduce you to my friend who writes for Fast Company — you’d make a great article.” And with that you better keep running — you have spectators.
I think there’s this fear that if the ship sails through our 20s without us making some news – be it front page or local — we’ll lose motivation? lose focus? lose the young-people balls it takes to start a mobile media company at 23 because you only need 30K to live on at that age. We’ll get a mate and maybe some kids and perhaps some real estate and probably a dog and then it won’t really be sensible to devote every morning, night, and weekend to our oil paintings. Yes, part of the admission to the wunderkind ship is age, but the other part is you’ve got to have the time to find it in the first place.
This though, like most things, is probably a catch-22. With early success does come expanded opportunity, but probably not without a lot of very early, very intense pressure. A different gnawing feeling than that of losing “the race.” What happens when it win it at 24, and then there’s no where else to run?
That or you suffer from the Affleck-affect. Your young success is a fluke — rooted in a friend…
I’m not going to worry about it for now. With the way modern life spans are increasing I’m probably going to live to about 120 at the least, 130 if I’m lucky. So based on that scale I’m really still in my teens – plenty young to win the tri-fecta Oscar, Tony, Emmy.
Smooth sailing…
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It may not mean the same thing to everyone, but this is the story that I tell myself whenever I feel like time is slipping away from me. There is always time to accomplish great things. Britney Spears may have made headlines when she was young and Ben Affleck may have peaked when he was young, but sometimes true greatness – the kind that not only makes headlines, but also makes a difference – just doesn’t happen until you’re 56:
Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and founder of Centre for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran.
Following the Iranian revolution in 1979, conservative clerics insisted that Islam prohibits women from becoming judges and Ebadi was demoted to a secretarial position at the branch where she had previously presided. She eventually requested early retirement as the situation remained unchanged.
Ebadi was not able to practice as a lawyer until 1993.
In 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights. She was the first ever Iranian to receive the prize. She was 56.
This is so true. When I was in my teens and heard about a celeb being famous they all seemed like they were in their 20s. Now that I’m in my 20s I’ve given up thinking that I could be any of these professions- actor, singer, dancer. It seems that, in those fields, if you haven’t made it by 25 you aren’t going to (with a few Susan Boyle exceptions).
“Wait, so does this mean it’s too late to be a Laker Girl? Shit.”
I still hold a candle for Ben Affleck. Plus he got Jennifer Garner and she’s a babe.
I still hold a candle for Ben Affleck. Plus he got Jennifer Garner and she’s a babe.