Here’s an excellent article on a new cross-generational case of Peter Pan syndrome gone trendy. It’s something that I’ve thought about a lot off and on lately, largely because I’ve always found myself very much refusing to grow up in the traditional sense: I’m 34 years old, and hopefully don’t come across as immature, but I’ve never worn a suit to a job for more than a single meeting, I still listen to the same style of music I listened to in high school, I still live like a night owl. I’m routinely told that I can’t possibly be any more than 26 or 27 years old (would I really lie about that?).

It’s not something I’ve ever done because it was cool, or trendy. This is just who I am — always have been. I don’t refuse to wear slacks to work, but I push the envelope to see if I can get away with it (I can) because it’s more comfortable for me. My musical tastes have certainly expanded a lot since I was awash in Ratt and Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, and to be honest, I don’t really understand the appeal of screamo (outside of the would-have-been-Goth-twenty-years-ago-girls hottness). I keep night owl hours because that’s what my body has done since I was in my early teens — but I still go to work during the day.

The article makes it sound more trendy than an unconscious decision to reject the notion that growing up requires letting go of childhood, which is what it has been in my (and , I’m fairly certain, many others’) case. But still, if you feel out of place among the old boys clubs where you work, or your friends give you shit because you’re a bartender at 35, check it out. We’re not alone, folks. The world finally recognizes our ideas.