Not young and not old

what *is* thirty-five? a new kind of inbetweener

I was listening to the foodie podcast Dish the other day, hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, and the guest was Matthew Macfadyen. They ask him near the beginning of the episode about a recent milestone birthday and he replies:

“Yeah, I’m 50! I really like being 50. I liked being 40. I liked my 20s. I did not like my 30s much. It was a kind of bleurgh—a decade of ‘what is this?’ Am I old, am I young? [..] But when I hit 40 I just thought it was a relief.”

I stopped on my walk and paused the podcast. This is exactly how I feel!! I did not expect to get such a jolt of inspiration and wisdom via Tom from Succession. I, too, am finding my mid-thirties a bit bleurgh. Am I young or old? It’s confusing.