One of my friends recently called me in a panic, completely distraught over the discovery of her first gray hair. My mom can remember the first time she noticed wrinkles around her eyes. My aunt always mentions how lucky I am to still have some “bounce” to my skin. We have all collectively become obsessed with and terrified of aging. But why is it that signs of living are so shameful?
I don’t necessarily think looking older has anything to do with aging itself, but with what it represents. People are obsessed with youth, the relevancy and opportunity it holds. As your face moves farther away from that, people, especially women, fear the invisibility and decline that it seems to symbolize. Beauty standards are tied to young appearances, and society often equates aging with diminishing value. The world is simply crueler to older women.
So, of course, they want to fight against that.
The anti-aging market has taken advantage of that. From celebrities to everyday people, it seems that botox and filler have become an inescapable norm. Even young people are being sold “preventative” measures. More and more women, some as young as early 20s, are pumping their skin full of botox – scared of even the possibility of losing their current look. It’s a sad reality that even the young are afraid of not being young anymore.
Getting older, however, is not a crime. It is a luxury. A luxury that many need to be reminded of. Wrinkles are a sign of life lived, of happy memories. Gray hair is a result of moments that some never have the opportunity to live. Why are we allowing cosmetic procedures to erase all of the time that makes us who we are?
Your face has followed you through every good time and bad. Those lines around your mouth are from all the smiles and laughs you’ve shared. Every moment is literally etched into your face, clear proof that you’ve lived a life worth living. Aging is a gift that should be embraced.
So, forget the botox. Show the world that you are happy to live life so fully so far.
