--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This middle age thing is a little weird…" description: "\"This middle age thing is a little weird. Some friends and mentors are gone, and there's a very forward-looking new generation coming up behind me. So i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/yo-yo-ma-8612_age_this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird_797410.png" --- # This middle age thing is a little weird. Some friends and… ![“This middle age thing is a little weird. Some friends and mentors are gone, and there's a very forward-looking new generation coming up behind me. So it's very much finding my own place.” quote by Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/yo-yo-ma-8612_age_this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird_797410.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/yo-yo-ma-8612_age_this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird_797410.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/yo-yo-ma-8612_age_this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird_797410.png) > “This middle age thing is a little weird. Some friends and mentors are gone, and there's a very forward-looking new generation coming up behind me. So it's very much finding my own place.” [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Midlife brings the loss of familiar mentors while a new generation rises, prompting a personal search for relevance and identity. **In simple terms:** Finding one's role amid changing relationships and emerging talent. Key Takeaway Embrace change and define your own path. Themes midlife identity generational shift Mood contemplative hopeful inspirational Type personal growth cultural commentary When to use this quote - career transition - family dynamics - community building - artistic collaboration Key Concepts self‑discovery legacy mentorship Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to stay relevant now? - How can you support the next generation while honoring your past? A Different Perspective New generations may feel pressure to replace rather than complement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Mentor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentor/) [Middle age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-age/) [Middle ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-ages/) [New generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-generation/) ## Related quotes > [We have new generation coming in and they are so talented and you need to match up with them. The key lies in reinventing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kaushik/we-have-new-generation-coming-in-and-they-are-so-talented-and-you/) [Satish Kaushik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kaushik/) > [It's not hard to have fun in 'Newsies,' about the uprising of children, a new generation coming in to take over the old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/it-s-not-hard-to-have-fun-in-newsies-about-the-uprising-of-children-a/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [ When you look at what \[new generation\] believe in, how they value diversity, how they believe in science, how they care about the environment,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/when-you-look-at-what-new-generation-believe-in-how-they-value/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There is a new generation coming through at Ajax with Justin Kluivert, Donny van de Beek, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-de-boer/there-is-a-new-generation-coming-through-at-ajax-with-justin-kluivert/) [Frank de Boer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-de-boer/) > [At the end of the '90s, I was very bored with the usual models, so I discovered a new generation that impressed me with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-testino/at-the-end-of-the-90s-i-was-very-bored-with-the-usual-models-so-i/) [Mario Testino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-testino/) > [Middle age is when you get in the car and immediately change the radio station.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-penton-leimbach/middle-age-is-when-you-get-in-the-car-and-immediately-change-the/) Patricia Penton Leimbach > [There is a time of life somewhere between the sullen fugues of adolescence and the retrenchments of middle age when human nature becomes so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/there-is-a-time-of-life-somewhere-between-the-sullen-fugues-of/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [The world is always full of brilliant youth which fades into grey and embittered middle age: the first flowering takes everything. The great men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-world-is-always-full-of-brilliant-youth-which-fades-into-grey-and/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Senescence begins And middle-age ends The day your descendants Outnumber your friends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/senescence-begins-and-middle-age-ends-the-day-your-descendants/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [After sixty, the self-questioning of middle age is obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/after-sixty-the-self-questioning-of-middle-age-is-obsolete/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [As a precocious teen I dreamed of being Graham Greene. Well, as it turned out, I never wrote a great novel, sadly, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-burchill/as-a-precocious-teen-i-dreamed-of-being-graham-greene-well-as-it/) [Julie Burchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-burchill/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) ## More by Yo-Yo Ma > [With every year of playing, you want to relax one more muscle. Why? Because the more tense you are, the less you can hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/with-every-year-of-playing-you-want-to-relax-one-more-muscle-why/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [A composition is always more than the sum of its parts. In other words, a really good piece of music is more than itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/a-composition-is-always-more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts-in-other-words/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Good things happen when you meet strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/good-things-happen-when-you-meet-strangers/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [My involvement in the political arena is to make sure there's a place for culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/my-involvement-in-the-political-arena-is-to-make-sure-there-s-a-place/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/when-we-enlarge-our-view-of-the-world-we-deepen-our-understanding-of/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [People will ask, 'Are you famous?' And I always answer, 'My mother thinks so.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/people-will-ask-are-you-famous-and-i-always-answer-my-mother-thinks-so/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [I remember when I was growing up. My great wish was to understand who I was and how I fit in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/i-remember-when-i-was-growing-up-my-great-wish-was-to-understand-who/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [It took me way beyond what I knew, into places of which I was totally scared, but as I became less frightened, I welcomed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/it-took-me-way-beyond-what-i-knew-into-places-of-which-i-was-totally/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [One is that you have to take time, lots of time, to let an idea grow from within. The second is that when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/one-is-that-you-have-to-take-time-lots-of-time-to-let-an-idea-grow/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [You go through phases. You have to reinvent reasons for playing, and one year's answer might not do for another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/you-go-through-phases-you-have-to-reinvent-reasons-for-playing-and/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [When people ask me how they should approach performance, I always tell them the professional musician should aspire to the state of the beginner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/when-people-ask-me-how-they-should-approach-performance-i-always-tell/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Mastering music is more than learning technical skills. Practicing is about quality, not quantity. Some days I practice for hours; other days it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/mastering-music-is-more-than-learning-technical-skills-practicing-is/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [I think that peace is, in many ways, a precondition of joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/i-think-that-peace-is-in-many-ways-a-precondition-of-joy/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Jazz has been such a force in music, that any musician, including classical composers, have been influenced, and obviously performers, also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/jazz-has-been-such-a-force-in-music-that-any-musician-including/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Practicing is not only playing your instrument, either by yourself or rehearsing with others - it also includes imagining yourself practicing. Your brain forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/practicing-is-not-only-playing-your-instrument-either-by-yourself-or/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) [Explore all 79 Yo-Yo Ma quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This middle age thing is a little weird. Some friends and mentors are gone, and there's a very forward-looking new generation coming up behind me. So it's very much finding my own place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yo-Yo Ma" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird-some-friends-and-mentors-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird-some-friends-and-mentors-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/yo-yo-ma-8612_age_this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird_797410.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/yo-yo-ma-8612_age_this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird_797410.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e94/yo-yo-ma-8612_age_this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird_797410.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This middle age thing is a little weird. Some friends and mentors are gone, and there's a very…” — Yo-Yo Ma", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Yo-Yo Ma", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This middle age thing is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird-some-friends-and-mentors-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/this-middle-age-thing-is-a-little-weird-some-friends-and-mentors-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```