How It Feels to Be Fifty

"How It Feels to Be Fifty" by Ellis Parker Butler is a reflective essay written in the early 20th century. This piece delves into the thoughts and feelings associated with reaching the milestone age of fifty, exploring themes of aging, vitality, and perspective on life. The author presents a humorous and optimistic view of what it means to grow older, challenging common stereotypes of aging and the mindset that often accompanies this life stage. In the book, the narrator shares personal anecdotes and reflections that illustrate how his perception of age has evolved. He dismisses the notion that reaching fifty signals the decline of life, instead expressing that this age marks the beginning of a richer and more fulfilling phase. The narrator discusses the worries of his youth, such as concerns about marriage and physical appearance, emphasizing how these concerns have faded over time, replaced by a sense of settled contentment. With a renewed outlook, he likens himself to a young teamster, finally ready to take on life's adventures and challenges, and advocates for the belief that the best experiences often come after fifty. Ultimately, the work aspires to inspire readers to embrace aging positively, viewing it not as a downhill journey but as an opportunity for continued growth and exploration. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Ellis Parker Butler was an American author. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays and is most famous for his short story "Pigs Is Pigs", in which a bureaucratic stationmaster insists on levying the livestock rate for a shipment of two pet guinea pigs, which soon start proliferating exponentially. His most famous character was Philo Gubb.