There are days and moments when I feel so incredibly young around some of my co-workers.  It’s not because they have years and years of experience that I don’t (which they do), and not because they mention their kids and compare minivan models (which some do), but because of cultural references that are simply beyond the scope of my generation.

A line from a TV show, the name of a Saturday morning cartoon that aired only on Saturdays before I was old enough to watch TV, a popular but short-lived song they played at high school dances in the late 70s.

I don’t regret being born when I was, and I would have this same child-like feeling no matter when I was born in a workplace with people from previous generations.  But it still feels a bit odd, mainly because I’ve never really encountered this before.

Throughout school, the age difference rarely goes above 4 years, and – in most situations – the cultural references that you and your friends adhere to are all from the same several years of childhood or adolescence.

In the real world, there are people of all ages, and it takes a short amount of time to adjust to that fact.  Not only are there people double my age but also college interns that are a bit younger.  The people you interact with on a daily basis becomes instantly less homogeneous once you hit the “real world” and it’s a fact that no one ever informs you of.

What’s even crazier is that one day, I will be one of the oldest people working on my team or division or scrum.  What’s it like working with only people younger than you?  I can only imagine.