I usually look back on things that happened in my life in calendar years (i.e., “I went to summer camp in 2003”) rather than age years (“I moved to Texas at age 26.”) Wonder how most Dopers do/think it?
I tend to look back on my youth in age years, and my adulthood in calendar years.
Calendar years is closer, but not right.
I tend to think in terms of school years, but even more in terms of locations. “I was living in _______ when _____ happened.” Since I have moved every 2-3 years my entire life, where I was is an indication of when.
School years used to be a major component. And what with grad school and being a prof that continued on for quite a while.
But quite often now it’s milepost-based around significant events. E.g., "Let’s see, that happened after X and before Y and it was in late spring so that made it around … "
I have been the family memory box for quite some time. People often ask me when something happened. I got so good that they’d ask me about events before I was born. Since I often remembered what people had talked about and could cite it back decades later.
So remembering “my life” extends out a ways.
I’d say school years for everything up until I graduated college. That would be even for summers, I think the summer between my freshman and sophomore year was when I worked at that restaurant, for example.
But post college, I think in years. I know I moved to Chicago in 2012, but I’d have to quickly calculate how old I was that year.
I still text my high school best friend and scrolling through our texts, he’s the same. ‘Do you remember our junior year band show?’ vs ‘I married my wife in 2010.’
I never think in age years, but my mom will occasionally refer to me in age years. ‘When you were 12’ has me converting to what grade I was in.
This also, for me.
Calendar years, but almost instantly I also think of how old I was.
I’m rather good at remembering sequences of events, certainly far better at it than other members of my family. I have certain key events which I can date precisely and act as anchor points for my recollection. To get my age I usually need to fix the date first and calculate from my birthday.
29 39 49 59 69 79 89 99 100
28 38 48 58 68 78 88 98
27 37 47 57 67 77 87 97
26 36 46 56 66 76 86 96
25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95
24 34 44 54 64 74 84 94
23 33 43 53 63 73 83 93
22 32 42 52 62 72 82 92
21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
There was a chart on the wall just like this when I was in 1st grade.
I see all numbers like this in my head.
Ages, money, dates.
My Daddy would’ve been 90 on Aug. 28. I moved him to a new column in my head. That was weird.
I’m not sure if either age or calendar is fully accurate, but rather milestones. For many years, everything was marked as happening either before or after the Tigers won the World Series in '84 (when I was 9, and this was a huge year for me).
As far as stuff from the 90s, I can pretty actually gauge what year something happened (or what year a song came out) based on who I was dating at the time. I can remember who I was dating pretty much every year, and can remember songs or major events based on that.
As I’ve moved into my 30s and 40s, time really seems to squish together and now I kinda base things on life events (marriage, first kid, second kid, left my job, moved, etc).
mostly calendar years but often in event clusters. High School, College, Army, Marriage, Dental School, one kid, two kids, each house etc.
Both, in a way. I was born in early March, so calendar and age years overlap so much that I conflate them.
When I lived in England colleagues of mine were massive football (soccer) fans and it was quite normal to collate recollections as per football season terms (August to May).
By that I mean:
“Man Utd won the first ever Premier League in 1992-93 and that was my graduation year aged 22”
It’s corny but these guys were brought up on football as a part of their life from early childhood so they just get conditioned into thinking in football dates.
That’s also a perfectly cromulent way to count years in Germany.
I guess calendar years.
But–usually it’s more of “I did such and such five years ago or did that two years ago.” Not so much, “I did such and such in 2014 and did that in 2017.”
Neither. It’s where I lived. Since high school, the longest I’ve lived in one place is eight years - and that’s where I am now. I blame things running together since then on no frame of reference.
Didn’t vote, since there was no “both” option.
I chose age years, but I realize this is a more accurate answer.
Or, even more accurately, the change happened when I met my wife. In the decade prior to that, I was “in my 20’s.” Then suddenly it was “1994,” and most of my important memories after that have a calendar year attached.
I didn’t vote, because there was no “neither”. To the degree I look back on my life at all I don’t bother remembering when things happened, or which things happened in what order even.
Calendar. Even as a young child I was always sort of date oriented.