My Thoughts on Ageing

I feel like I want to put something in perspective here, even if it’s just my own opinions and nobody shares them. I think a lot of people are wrong about the reason they don’t want to get old. They worry about getting wrinkles and getting fat, and things like that that in the grand scheme of things seem incredibly insignificant. I mean do you really think those who love you like that will love you any less because you’re older? Hell no. I watch these hair dye commercials and I think “what the fuck is wrong with you? There is NOTHING wrong with grey hair!”
You know what I think it really is? We’re afraid of running out of time to do the things in life we plan to do. Think about any age a person can be. What’s wrong with it? There are things that suck about getting old, but no more things than suck about being young. Did you really enjoy being a teenager? Being a kid? Even being in your 20s and not knowing anything about your future, struggling to piece it all together? I mean honestly, not just the pleasant bits and pieces of memory you’ve taken with you. I didn’t think so. Do you not look up to the older people in your life, impressed that they can be so wise, so cultured, so experienced in life? Of course you do. To get old is not a change in the quality of life, though I wouldn’t say the same for illness, which I admit can and does accompany it. No, it’s just a change. And you’re focusing on the wrong things.
Like I said in the My Thoughts On Weight post, don’t look to the wrong role models. As you grow old, don’t look back on the people who are younger than you with jealousy or longing. The fact that you’ve already passed that point in your life is something to celebrate. Those bad times in particular are over, and you’ve grown from them. You’ve gained knowledge, love, and experience from them, and you are all the better for it. Your looks be damned, they don’t fucking matter.
But the real fear, that of running out of time, is a reasonable one. What do you do about that? Live your life without regrets. You’re not dying right now, but we all know life doesn’t last forever, and as much as you know you won’t get to do everything you want in this one life, you can at least try to do as much as possible, and start as early as you can. Don’t waste it. If you enjoy your life, milk it for all it’s worth, be happy, and focus on all the best parts, then you can’t be as down about being older. You can only be proud that you did the best you could, and gained so much.