# Do you look back on your life in calendar years or age years? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 2, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596 "2019-09-02T17:26:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/1 "2019-09-02T17:26:26Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/2 "2019-09-02T18:50:26Z")
I tend to look back on my youth in age years, and my adulthood in calendar years. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/3 "2019-09-02T19:01:45Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/4 "2019-09-02T20:35:51Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/5 "2019-09-02T20:57:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/6 "2019-09-02T21:04:18Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > 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. This also, for me. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/7 "2019-09-02T21:27:45Z")
Calendar years, but almost instantly I also think of how old I was. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/8 "2019-09-02T21:32:25Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/9 "2019-09-02T21:48:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/10 "2019-09-02T22:10:21Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/11 "2019-09-02T22:14:40Z")
mostly calendar years but often in event clusters. High School, College, Army, Marriage, Dental School, one kid, two kids, each house etc. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/12 "2019-09-02T22:18:19Z")
Both, in a way. I was born in early March, so calendar and age years overlap so much that I conflate them. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/13 "2019-09-02T22:27:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/14 "2019-09-02T22:50:35Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/15 "2019-09-02T22:54:26Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/16 "2019-09-02T22:58:32Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/17 "2019-09-04T18:50:54Z")
Didn’t vote, since there was no “both” option. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/18 "2019-09-04T20:46:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I tend to look back on my youth in age years, and my adulthood in calendar years. 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. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2019, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/19 "2019-09-04T23:14:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596/20 "2019-09-05T04:13:32Z")
Calendar. Even as a young child I was always sort of date oriented. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-look-back-on-your-life-in-calendar-years-or-age-years/839596.md?page=2)