Whether it's your dad, professor, older sister, or your best friend's mom, we all need a break from our own generation.
It's not that we don't like us, it's just that we need some variety in our lives. Sometimes we don't want to make an effort to trudge to that overpriced bar and risk not getting let in. Sometimes we want to go out for brunch and have a light but meaningful conversation about what's going on in our lives, not sit around with a group of people scrolling through Instagram. Sometimes we want to nurture that side of us that's looking forward to another stage of life without having to necessarily leave this stage.
It might not even be because we are intrigued by some specific generation gap, but just that there is an age gap at all, whether it be a difference of three or 30 years from ourselves. Regardless of age, every person other than ourselves has new ideas and stories to share, adding years onto that just breeds even more experiences. You know the phrase, "When I was your age..." could very well be coming from your best friend's mouth.
What's in a number, anyway? Sure, if a 60-year-old were romantically pursuing a 16-year-old, I'd be concerned about numbers. In the case of all platonic relationships, however, negative judgment concerning age should not exist. It's like scores on an exam—yes, the number is important to an extent and puts a perspective on how we're doing in a subject, but it doesn't tell everything, and it certainly is not a determination of our character.
Say you get along well with the lady at the omelette station, and one day you catch her eating dinner at the dining hall alone after her shift. So what if she's a mother of three? Good company is good company—no discriminating! The purpose of living in a globalized society is to connect with as many individuals as possible and form a web of personal communities. All the while, you could both learn something from each other that a sociology lecture could never get across.
Don't be discouraged by the weird looks you get when your classmate finds out that you're spending your free Friday afternoon grabbing coffee with a librarian who could have retired when you were born. We all have different friends for different reasons. Perhaps we need a break from ourselves, we want a new perspective and fresh advice, or maybe chatting and laughing comes more naturally to a certain person. A connection with someone transcends time. At least, if the librarian has too much to drink on a Friday night, chances are her hair's already wrapped up in a bun or short enough so you don't have to hold it.
