skryche

What is it called when somebody decides to stop changing? People seem to do that, every so often. They somehow take a look at their life and decide, that's it. And they settle down into the track they've set for themselves and just drift for a while, with every apparent intention of doing it the rest of their lives.

Every once in a while, I'll see a friend I haven't seen in a while, and I'll realize that they've chosen, on some level, to stop letting the world change them. And they don't seem depressed, they've just decided they're living the life they wanted to live and they don't need to try so hard any more.

I've seen it happen twice to friends, and both times were young women who had become seriously romantically attached, and they clearly could now see the rest of their lives: marriage, babies, motherhood, death. But it's hardly gender-specific — I know some men who I'd say have made this change. Time to "settle down"! Can't teach an old dog new tricks!

If I wanted to unfair, I'd call it premature middle-agedness, or suburban mentality. But I've met plenty of elderly suburbanites who still possess a vibrant interest in things. What is it, exactly?

To wrap up: it's creepy. Don't let it happen to you. Or to me.