“For me, ageing is a natural process. There’s nothing really special about it. Of course, ageing without being in good health is a problem.
When you retire, life becomes different. When you’re working, you have a source of income, and a company to take care of your healthcare and insurance.
But once you retire, you’re on your own. For example, when you go to a doctor, you have to pay out of your pocket. Your company would pay for it if you’re working.
Similarly, when you’re working, you have to stick to a routine from Monday to Friday. You’ve got to make calls, go to meetings, and you’ve got deadlines. Everything is occupied.
When you retire, you don’t have that anymore. You’ve got totally nothing to do. No deadlines, no work, no nothing. It’s a totally different lifestyle.
I can give you a comparison. Students, when they finish their school year, they have holidays, and they feel very free. But they know that it’s only for a short period of time, only a few months at most. Then they’ll have to go back to school after that.
However, what if they finished school totally, and nothing comes after that? Totally nothing to do.
For the first few weeks maybe they’ll feel happy, but a few more months down the road they’ll start to feel uncomfortable. There’s nothing. No class to go to, no lessons to attend. Practically nothing to do. It’s not their normal routine.
It’s the same for retirees. It’s a totally different lifestyle.
Right now, I would say that I’m able to learn many new things, such as singing and audio editing. I’m trying to learn how to do audio mixing, which is taking different tracks and blending them together.
Animation is also another thing I want to learn.
A regret of mine is that I did not learn how to play the piano when I was younger because I had no time. It’s a regret because playing the piano is a skill you can have for a very long time, and it’ll get you far. It can also bring you relaxation and joy,” said William Kho, 63, retired. He was formerly a senior manager at a European company.
