10 October

A few notice the transformation of all adult life into high school life. In my 50s I decided to say enough. I now break all the rules of that adult life, probably alienating many I know. I refuse to play those status games, games of identity. I refuse to make the guiding principle of my life ‘what other people are doing’, that constant daily monitoring of how I fit in. I’m not a contrarian either, that’s just doing the opposite of what everybody else is doing, and is even more slave to the whole stupid high school process. My priority every day when I get up is the same. To understand the world a little better, and act accordingly. It’s also joyful, unlike the continuous anxiety of monitoring your status - how you fit in - which passes for much of adult life now. A person who tells you they only want fun, happy experiences means they don’t want to make waves. They want to fit in. Enslaved to high school life. Nearly always their heroes are musicians, like teenagers.