Your mate, younger or older?

I was once asked why didnt i settle down with someone of my age or a bit older? During that
questioning i felt being accused by my mates rather than being asked out of curiousity. It felt as though i was accused of the relationship failing. Well if maturity is based on how long one has lived on this planet then i guess the best option for anyone is to marry an older person.

My mates at the time were busy shagging, getting drunk, going to school or in some fraudulent activities while i was already working and even at that at 22 i had pretty much toured the world back and forth between Africa and Russia so the scope of knowledge and childhood experiences separated me from my mates. Between 13 and 22 i had done everything that the 18 to 30 year olds were doing and even many 50 year olds still do. I wasn't necessarily a bad kid, i just rolled with those who were older because i looked their age so they never really noticed the difference neither did they ask questions such as how old i was. In the process i picked up some life lessons while in conversations; by the way they protected me most times as against getting into trouble with my mates who i was busy getting out of the cells after drinking and delivering them back to their parents. At 16 i was 6ft tall already, while my mates were under 4ft :) not to talk of them being intimidated and funny enough to remember they used me as a shield from the evils that roomed around our neighbourhoods and probably to an extent i had more sensibility towards life bread in me by my dad so i had very little interest in what my mates were doing at the time.

I grew up closely with my Grand parents and I am the eldest of all grand children so i had to look after my siblings (brother and cousins) and of course was asked of to be an example and took the pains of being flogged if i didn't meet up to the expectations so i guess some maturity did rub off from there too. Life didn't spare me experiences and I had no big brother or sister to offload on so had to roll with the punches. I also found spirituality early so a certain level of rapid growth occurred. I also willingly plunged myself further into the business world after i saw the turn of events within the countries i stayed when it came to the systems of governance that failed my ancestors and wasn't waiting for it to drag me down. So naturally if i am amidst "mates" be it young or old who behave immaturely i move away. One can't find Jesus with just about anyone; one gravitates towards where they feel comfortable.

I live to the fullest without prejudice or judgement as to why i was shared this wealthy lot of experiences. :) :) :)