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![Jocelyn Jerome, Dan Ota, Cynthia Chapman from our How Young Do You Feel article three interviewees pictured from left jocelyn jerome dan ota and cynthia chapman](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/container_image/articlecontentfragment/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140-howyoung-hero.jpg)
Age is an elusive thing: Your chronological age is definitive, precise, undeniable ... yet older adults consistently think of themselves as 20 percent younger than their years, studies show. To test that premise, we took to the streets in several cities to ask people their “real” age, followed by the age they actually feel, physically and mentally. While our subjects had vastly different life experiences, they also had one thing in common: Almost all of them feel younger than their calendar year, just as the research suggests. Here, they tell us their challenges, dreams and aspirations.
![Cynthia Chapman, age 60, says she feels 48 physically and 40 mentally cynthia chapman feels forty eight physically and forty mentally she is age sixty](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par1/articlecontentfragmeImage1/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1583-howyoung-cynthiachapman.jpg)
Cynthia Chapman, Tupelo, Mississippi, 60
“I feel great — I lost 138 pounds in two years. I can breathe. And now that I’ve found a new husband, I’m getting to the best part of my journey.”
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![Martin Jennings, 63 says he feels 45 both physically and mentally martin jennings who is age sixty three says he actually only feels age forty five both physically and mentally](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par3/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1583-howyoung-martinjennings.jpg)
Martin Jennings, New York City, 63
“I’m not ready to plunge into senior citizenship. I’m still vibrantly, busily active and working and thinking.”
![Dan Ota, 66, says he feels his age physically but only feels 30 mentally dan ota age sixty six says he feels his physical age but mentally feels like he is age thirty](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par5/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1555-howyoung-danota.jpg)
Dan Ota, Pasadena, California, 66
“I work with a bunch of young folks in their 20s, and I ask them, ‘What are you talking about? What does this mean?’ So I feel knowledgeable.”
![Marion Margolis, 80, says she only feels 55 both physically and mentally eighty year old marion margolis says she only feels fifty five years old both physically and mentally](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par7/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1687-howyoung-marionmargolis.jpg)
Marion Margolis, New York City, 80
“I feel 55 because I’m vital. My husband and I are aware that this is the last act. We hope it’s going to be a long act.”
![Paul Kim, age 63, says he actually feels 35 both physically and mentally paul kim feels like he is physically and mentally age thirty five but he is actually age sixty three](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par9/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1600-howyoung-paul.jpg)
Paul Kim, Los Angeles, 63
“The older you get, you know what life takes. Don’t stay home too much. Much better to be out playing tennis with people.”
![Eric Mosley, 71, and Clara Mosley, 81. Both of them say they only feel age 50 both physically and mentally seventy one year old eric mosley and eighty one clara mosley both of them say they only feel age fifty both physically and mentally](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par11/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1600-howyoung-eric-clara.jpg)
Eric Mosley (left), Los Angeles, 71
“I forgot stuff when I was 5 years old. I’ve been forgetting stuff all my life — it’s just now we make a big deal about it.”
Clara Mosley (right), Los Angeles, 81
“My friends aren’t all in my age category. The Gen Zs and millennials are amazing — they keep me current.”
![Jane Chase, 81, says she feels the same age mentally but feels 75 physically eighty one year old jane chase says she feels the same age mentally but feels seventy five physically](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par15/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1583-howyoung-janechase.jpg)
Jane Chase, New York City, 81
“I’ve entered a phase in my life where there are losses, many losses. There’s both grief and a savoring of the last years, a sense of an ending.”
![Juan Jimenez, 54, says he feels his age mentally and feels 60 physically fifty four year old juan jimenez says he feels the same age mentally but feels sixty years old physically](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par17/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1584-howyoung-juanjimenez.jpg)
Juan Jimenez, Teaneck, New Jersey, 54
“I have some problems related to an accident. But I also feel my age, because I’ve achieved what I wanted to by now. I’ve had a family, a house. I’ve had a good life.”
![Richard Moschetti, 65, feels 45 physically and 25 mentally. Caleb Ballard, 63, feels 49 physically and 35 mentally richard moschetti age sixty five says he feels forty five physically and twenty five mentally also pictured is caleb ballard age sixty three who says he feels forty nine physically and thirty five mentally](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par19/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1082-howyoung-richard-caleb.jpg)
Richard Moschetti (left), Philadelphia, 65
“I discovered music at 18, but there’s no reason I have to listen to that music all my life. I want to discover what rebellious 18-year-olds are listening to now.”
Caleb Ballard, (right), Los Angeles, 63
“I was a hellbat. But I just really looked at my life and did a complete 180. I feel better in every single way than I ever have.”
![Jocelyn Jerome, 84, says she feels 75 mentally and 72 mentally eighty four year old jocelyn jerome says she feels seventy five mentally and seventy two mentally](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par23/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1660-howyoung-jocelynjerome.jpg)
Jocelyn Jerome, New York City, 84
“When I sit down with older people, sometimes friends, and they talk about their age and being ill, that’s just not me. I don’t think about age.”
![Marc Chesin, 68, says he feels 50 physically and 47 mentally sixty eight year old marc chesin says he only feels age fifty physically and forty seven mentally](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/health/healthy-living/info-2023/how-old-do-you-feel/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/body_one_cf_one/par25/articlecontentfragme/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/health/healthy-living/2023/11/1140x1708-howyoung-marcchesin.jpg)
Marc Chesin, Chandler, Arizona, 68
“I feel younger than I am, because I regularly take 20-plus-mile rides on a nonelectric bike.”
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