How old are you?

At first, you get used to a single number, confidently give your answer, and then realize you’ve already gotten it wrong by a year. The years fly by so quickly that it’s sometimes hard to remember. You have to calculate the difference between the current year and the year you were born.

That’s why I’ve chosen a different way to answer. I pick a single number and stick with it for the next five years. Or until I’m mentally okay with that number. For example, if I’m between 22 and 28, I say 25.

People probably don’t care about your actual date of birth. If you want to feel younger, say 30, even if you’re 35. Want to seem more mature? Say 25, even if you’re 20.

As you get older, you’ll hear this question much less often than when you were younger. When you’re 17 and someone else is 20, you think they’re smarter and more experienced than you. A difference of a few years seems significant. But when you’re 40 and interacting with someone around the same age, it doesn’t matter to you whether they’re 35 or 45.

And when you have kids, people will often ask you how old your child is. And that’s when you’ll get even more mixed up with the answer.