What Does It Mean To Peak?

The term “peak” has remained at the top of my mind recently, not only because of its relevance on the Internet right now, but also because of the various things it can represent for different people. For those who don’t know, “peak” can be used as an adjective or verb that refers to the best that someone or something can be. I posed the same question, “Do you think you’ve peaked, and if so, when?” to different people in my life, and these were some of their answers: 

Kaitlyn (32, Mother, Cousin Extraordinaire)

“If you’d asked me at 25 whether I’d peaked, I probably would’ve started listing accomplishments. Degrees. Milestones. Resume lines. I thought ‘peak’ meant most impressive. If I’ve peaked anywhere, it’s in my capacity. My capacity to stay calm when my daughter is not. My capacity to choose curiosity over being correct. My capacity to hold someone’s grief without trying to tidy it up. Maybe peaking isn’t about being the most impressive version of yourself. Maybe it’s about being stretchy and the most integrated version so far. If that’s the metric, I’ve had some beautiful highs. Some valleys I’m pretty proud of, too. And the best part? I still feel stretchy.”

Rob (An Older Boston Guy, Husband/Father, Software Nerd)

“As an older man in the U.S. with plenty of miles behind me, I’ve learned that ‘peaked’ takes on a life of its own the longer you live. I found your 20s and 30s are when you start kicking life into gear. The ‘peaks’ come and go with jobs, paychecks, relationships, and maybe the start of a family. In your 40s and 50s, you’re building on the foundation you’ve laid, strong or shaky. Then your 60s, 70s, and beyond arrive. You ask yourself, ‘Have I peaked?’ The answer is no. For me, ‘peaking’ means continually setting goals, making plans, adjusting, and growing from every attempt, success, or failure. Each time I reach or release a goal, I carry the memory forward and start again.”

Alexa (30, Newly Married, Special Education Teacher)

“I think that you can peak at different times in your life, and I think you can peak multiple times. I feel like I was my best self when I started college because in high school, I didn’t fully know who I was yet. When I went to college, I found my best friends and felt like I had the freedom to be my true self. I learned a lot about myself and who I am through my experience at the University of Hartford. Another peak that I had was at my wedding because I feel like it was the best day of my life. I have never been so happy before, and I have never felt more beautiful and confident than on that day, surrounded by everybody who was there to support Patrick and me on our big day.”

Jason (34, Community Volunteer, Preparing for a New Chapter)

“I believe I reached my peak upon realizing what I had lost after my accident. With my leg broken on 10/18/23 and being held up in bed all day, I found I missed everything about volunteering. I’d always worried that I wasn’t living up to my peak by not having a paying job/career and still living at home. But it was after not being able to do any of that that I realized that I had a role in life and achieved what I was meant to do, helping out my community and contributing to a larger goal. Maybe all this is tied to my experience with being on the Autistic Spectrum. While I have Autism, I don’t choose to make it a focal point in my life, but at the same time, to be authentic/peak means to recognize that it’s a part of me and affects my life in ways I may not always be aware of.”

Karen (59, Grandmother, Retiring After 37 Years of Teaching)

“I have reached a point of confidence and fulfillment in my career where experience, wisdom, and passion have all come together, and I am ready for the next chapter in life.  I look forward to spending unhurried time with my grown daughter as she builds her beautiful, growing family, offering support, love, and the kind of presence that busy working years didn’t always allow when I was raising her. This feels like a ‘peak’–rich in joy and extended learning.”

Reading these answers not only deepened my understanding of the perspectives of some of the most important people in my life but also reminded me that the “peak” of our lives is entirely subjective. I challenge the idea that life’s defining moments must fall neatly along a fixed timeline, or that reaching them too early or too late reflects any sort of arrogance or shortcoming. 

So, I guess the answer to this article’s question is up to the reader’s interpretation. As a first-year college student, I know that my peak has yet to come–a fact that excites and motivates me. Maybe it’ll look like the stable love Alexa found, the purposeful altruism Jason embodies, or the “stretchy” self Kaitlyn described becoming. 

However, in whichever way my “peak” finds me, I find comfort in knowing that it will be entirely and uniquely my own—just as yours will be.

• college
• growth
• life