Reinvention at nineteen is normal. At twenty-five, normal. At forty, still normal.

The notion that there is a deadline for becoming somebody new is invented, and it does real damage. People change careers, cities, beliefs and whole lines of work at every age, and those who do not are usually stopped by the story about being too late rather than by anything actual. Late starts are extremely common and almost nobody mentions theirs.

If you are carrying a sense that you missed the window, check whether anybody actually closed it. Then take the first step of the thing you thought was finished. Starting at any age still just looks like starting.