aging

Aging is generally seen as taboo. Whether this is due to unrealistic beauty standards heightened by plastic surgery and photo editing or just because aging is one step closer to death, I'm not sure. But here are my experiences and thoughts on it.

My sister is 30, almost 31. She has minimal wrinkles now but is very concerned about the future of her face. For years she has been getting "preventative botox". My mom, who is nearly 60, gets botox as well. For her, I understand it a bit more. She's made quite a few more trips around the Sun than my sister has and it is natural to want to feel your best at a time when your physical peak has passed. I don't mean that in terms of beauty, though. Scientifically, our bodies decline after our thirties or so. Regardless, I still find it disheartening that they both think that aging has a negative impact on appearance. My grandma certainly feels the same, too. At 84, she stills dyes her hair to hide the white and complains about the wrinkles on her hands. 

As a 20 year old, I don't have much experience with aging. If anything, I have less than the average 20 year old because most people think that I am around 14 at first glance. Plus, the braces certainly do not help. However, I find aging to be amazing. I am astounded by the difference in maturity and knowledge in myself over just a few years. I can't imagine how much more I will learn by the time I leave this Earth. How many more friends I'll make, delicious meals I'll eat, trips I'll take. From my perspective, my grandma should celebrate that she has had the opportunity to live this long and develop all of the wrinkles, white hairs, and crow's feet that she has. Beauty is not determined by how many, or few, wrinkles you have; it is determined by your spirit.