It's not the years, honey. It's the mileage

"The mind is in the head, not in the age." This phrase was one of the most hated phrases in my life because it was used against me a lot when I spent summer vacations in the country at my grandmother's house. I was born and lived in a town between the city and the countryside. I was not good at farming or gardening. For this reason, I was criticized a lot at my grandmother's house, and my nephews there, even though they were 3-4 years younger than me, could do things properly. Now that I think about it, I understand that this phrase should be a lesson for me, and I should follow it instead of hating it. In this post, I'm going to write about why experience really matters, not age.

Let's start. Imagine that a boy named Abdujabbar was born in Nukus. He studied well, went to school, and after graduating, he started working. He is now 40 years old. A boy named Abdusattar was born in Moynaq. He studied and worked just like Abdujabbor, but he is 30 years old. Abdujabbar is often considered more respectable from a purely ageist perspective, especially in many hierarchical Asian cultures. But should we really think this way?

Let's analyze it now. Abdujabbar was born in Nukus before the independence of Uzbekistan, studied at school in Nukus, attended university in Nukus, and graduated from university in Nukus. Abdujabbar stayed in Nukus even when the majority moved to Tashkent, the capital, for different purposes. Due to the lack of career competition in Nukus, he did not feel the need to work on himself, so he did not learn a foreign language. He graduated from university in agronomy and worked in this field. Abdujabbar lived a stable life and became a good agronomist in Nukus.

Our second hero, Abdusattar, was born in Moynaq. He studied and graduated from school in Moynaq. He went to work in Russia, like many other young people from Moynaq and many other villages in Uzbekistan. In Russia, he first faced issues with documentation, then racism, and then job problems. He did not know the Russian language, so there were few opportunities for work. He learned the language. In order to become a legal immigrant and be able to walk safely on the streets, he also learned how to manage his documents correctly. After that, he started working as a waiter in a restaurant. Seeing many Russians living a good life, he wanted to achieve this lifestyle. He decided to study and not do menial work. But there was a problem. He initially wanted to study IT because he saw that many Russians who lived well were in this profession. He learned what could be achieved in this field and wanted to enter it firmly. Therefore, he understood that he needed to study at university, but he did not have the money for tuition. So, he started saving money. His knowledge of Russian allowed him to consume information in the language, which broadened his worldview. Having collected enough money, he returned to Nukus and began preparing for university. He was 20 years old at that time. The following year, at the age of 21, he decided to study in Tashkent and entered university there. He did not win a scholarship and had to pay for his education. The money he earned was only enough for university tuition. He had to work for his daily expenses. Since he knew Russian, he got a job as a call-center operator at an educational center. Through this, he increased his resilience to stress, responsibility for work and studies. Everything was fine, but he was not satisfied with the resources at university. There were not enough resources in Uzbek and Russian, so he learned English. He now consumed information in three languages, which transformed his learning. He was the first to learn new knowledge in his field. Additionally, his salary at work increased. He graduated from university at 25 years old. He wanted to start a business, but because he didn't have enough money, he took on debt. He overestimated his experience, skills, and knowledge and failed. He went into debt. To pay off his debts, he started working in his field. After working for a year, he paid off his debts and improved his skills in management, working with employees, and working with customers. After a year, he got rid of his debts and started a business again. This time, the business succeeded. He gradually improved his business and his skills in working with clients, managing documents, and expanding the business. His network of acquaintances expanded, and he became a successful small business owner at the age of 30. He was able to communicate in three languages, went through various experiences, and improved his resilience and adaptability.

In the example of the lives of these two people, we can see that experience is more important than age. Abdujabbar is the best agronomist in his field, and in some ways, he is better than Abdusattar. But in the global world, Abdusattar's skills and experience are more valuable. For this reason, judging someone based on their age alone and placing someone above others because of age can lead to mistakes and wrong decisions.

Seoul, Korea

21/06/2024