I am older than you, so you should add the "Aunty" title to my name while addressing me.
You know, we' are not age mates, so we shouldn't be close friends because I am older.
I get comments like this a lot from people of the same gender, especially when trying to make friends, and to be honest, comments like this make me want to hit some people. I mean, who told you that friends should be people of the same age? Where have you seen? or heard that friends should be restricted by age?
I am someone who doesn't care about making friends, especially with people of the same gender as me. For one, I am not ready for all the drama that comes with it. Life itself is enough drama.
Secondly, I suck at keeping friends. my communication skills are a zero outta hundred, starting up conversations, FaceTime, calls, are so not my thing. I am so used to my space and siblings; they are very good friends. Lastly, I am not done healing from how my childhood friends suddenly outgrew me and became way out of my league (a topic for another day).
But recently, I decided to crawl out of my shell and try new fun hobbies. I made a bucket list of things I would love to do, and one of them is making new friends. I can't just be stuck with the ones I have always had. Besides, life is too short to live a boring one, and I am so done with it, I thought so.
Now my biggest problem is with my same gender. Why are these people so complicated? You can't even walk up to a lady stranger you admire, to exchange pleasantries and chit-chat without the person scrutinizing you first and checking to see if you are in their "level" or not before deciding to either respond or ignore. These levels of a thing are getting me in a chokehold, to be honest.
I really admire how guys can connect with their same gender even if it is their first meeting. But girls? hell no! The attitude I get from some girls while trying to hold a conversation is enough to send a person to the grave, I'm not gonna lie.
And don't even get me started when you finally feel like you have clicked and connected. Boom! They find out they are older than you, and the seniority attitude surfaces out of the blue. I mean, this is the same person you have been talking well with, vibing and being just fine with. And to think the age difference might not even be much, just a year or two, but my same gender who wants all protocols duly observed wouldn't see reasons to continue being friends as long as they are older.
In my opinion, friendship should not be restricted to people of the same age grade. Individuals should be friends with people who are older or even younger than them. Being friends with people who are older or younger than you is good because it helps you learn new things and see the world from different points of view. Older friends can share their experiences and give advice, while younger friends can bring fresh ideas. These friendships can also offer support, break stereotypes, and make life even more interesting. Age shouldn't stop an individual from making friends because it can bring a lot of positive things.
Age is just a number!