when i was really young, i was somewhat of a child prodigy (but aren't we all?)... to that extent, i was always used as a pawn of sorts by my dad, never really related that much to kids my own age... however, my best friend was my grandfather - who was the only person to meet me at my own level. as i've grown up, i've rarely ever been friends with people my age (aside from a few terrific exceptions). even with people i've dated. so here i am now, a 20 year old able to say that a considerable amount of the people i feel close to are relatively to greatly older than myself. so are there age differences between you and your friends, or you and the people whom have influenced your lives? how did you meet them and what have they meant for you?

-- diego (drafael@hotmail.com), March 30, 2000

Answers

until recently, my friends have always been younger than me....by as much as 5-6 years sometimes. i contribute this to two things: in my school days, i think it was because i started kindergarten immediately after i turned 5...most of my classmates were 6 or at least turned 6 sometime that school year. i always hung out with the class behind me - probably because we were more on the same maturity level. as i've grown older i contribute it to the fact that i look like i'm at least 5 years younger than i am....people are always shocked when i tell them my age, so i guess i attract people in a different age bracket. lately, however, i've been developing friendships with people my age or a little older - i think this is because i don't like to go to bars anymore, and most of the people in the younger age group still do....so we don't relate to each other as well anymore.

-- alex (alexatelier@earthlink.net), April 27, 2000.