#017 Ageing Isn’t The Enemy
by Valerie |
Hey Wizz,
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about our obsession with youth. It’s literally everywhere. The miracle creams, the “age-defying” products, the subtle (and not-so-subtle) messages that tell us staying young is the ultimate goal. And if you’re not? Well, then you might as well be dead.
Recently I’ve caught myself staring in the mirror, noticing lines that weren’t there before, skin that doesn’t bounce back like it used to. And I hate to admit it, but sometimes I feel a little pang - like I should be doing something about it. But then I stop and ask myself, Why? Who told me that ageing is something to be ashamed of?
Society doesn’t really celebrate this part of growing older. It tells us that our value is tied to youth, to looking fresh, to seeming untouchable by time. And that’s especially true for women. We’re sold the idea that staying young keeps us relevant, desirable, worthy. And if we don’t? Well, we risk becoming invisible.
Because here’s the thing, you couldn’t pay me to go back to being 20. Not for a second. The self-assurance, the resilience, the clarity I have today, that didn’t exist when I was younger. I was too busy worrying about what other people thought of me. Too caught up in the external, trying to look a certain way to blend and fit in.
But when I look at the women I admire most, they aren’t the ones desperately clinging to their youth; they’re the ones who wear their years like a badge of honour. Kate Winslet, Emma Thomson, Helen Mirren, Davina McCall... they radiate something deeper than surface beauty - something stronger, richer, untouchable.
Ageing isn’t something to resist, it’s something to own!
So I’m making a choice. I refuse to buy into the fear. I refuse to shrink myself to fit into a version of beauty that is fleeting and, quite frankly, impossible to maintain forever. Because I want more than that. I want to live fully, without constantly worrying about turning back a clock that only moves in one direction. No more.
Who's f*cking with me!?!
Love, Valerie x
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