Yesterday I was twenty-one. I was naïve and had my whole life ahead of me to “find myself.” To tell you the truth, the lack of experience often left me distraught. It is hard to navigate in a world with no map. At times, I could feel the longing from those older than myself to be young again. They wanted to suck the “youth blood” out of me as I spoke in my simple, childish manner. Other older people dismissed me. Youth has no opinion worth considering.
Now that I am in my thirties, I feel as if I lived a hundred lives already. Wisdom comes by default. That is the beauty of getting older. As a woman living in an image obsessed society, I dreaded turning thirty. It was one of the worst days of my life. I am still not married. I have no children. By all accounts in this world, I am “behind” from a sociological benchmark.
But never in my life have I felt as at peace as I do. I appreciate having insight and not fumbling anymore. I know that as I continue to grow older, that insight will be become even greater. I can’t force the media or anyone else to glorify aging. We live in a youth obsessed culture. But if I had to choice to live every day as a twenty-one-year-old, I would say no.
Amen.
