Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The Bombshell Signs of Aging

A few days back, a much younger colleague of mine got to know my age and remarked that I’m becoming an old hag. My reaction to that was that I always wanted to grow up, and fast. To be 30 meant achieving the biggest milestone of one’s life; and it indeed was a milestone of my life.

For the last 10 years or so, I have been seeing so many friends and colleagues, running after beauty products, anti-aging products and even Photoshop/filters only to look much younger than what they really are, to the extent of a seeming youth mania.

I sometimes feel tempted to ask, how ‘bout turning into a six month old infant? They all want to look younger, don’t they? What’s better than turning into an infant! That is after all, the ultimate destination and an underlying expectation.

Age has been the ultimate, inevitable truth of life. So then, why are we so scared of something that would prove that we have lived our share? Why do we keep running after the fountain of superficial youth while we keep making attempts to kill the real youth within?

A cosmetic company did a “7 signs of aging” campaign a few years back to cash upon the low self esteem of their target base. With my 31st around the corner I thought of doing my own take on the 7 signs of aging in an attempt to restore the lost pride...

1.       Generation gap:
When you look at a girl wearing extra short dress and suddenly panic that she forgot to wear her pants
2.       The Body of Truth:
When you notice the change in weather because your bones started aching
3.       Did your waistline just crack up?
When your waistline throws a tough competition to your age-line
4.       Alone time:
When you appreciate spending weekends home, sleeping
5.       Tax-savers.inc:
When night-out fun means buying your favourite liquor, getting food packed and crashing at your own place or a friend’s
6.       From Taj Mahal to the Leaning Tower of Pisa:
When an increase in bra size stops meaning bloom but sag
7.       Back to the era of Scarlett O’Hara:
When you need a corset only to be able to make use of all those clothes in your closet

Now, now, aging ain’t all that bad. Don’t believe me? Well, read on…
1.       You finally feel in control of your life
2.       You are financially stable
3.       Your friend circle has reduced to a sensible few
4.       You’ve stopped caring about who says what about you not in defiance but in indifference. You have come a long way, really.
5.       You see the traces of crow’s feet at the corner of your eyes and humour lines around your mouth? Know that you’ve laughed all the years behind you and smile again.
6.       You’ve ditched the magazine look book as you no more care about general perception but your own comfort and taste
7.       That red lipstick doesn’t scream for attention any more, but blends with your personality
8.       You are more open to experiment with your food, makeup, clothes, travel and more, not to please someone else but for your own experience

Well, you see? You are full of grace about your life and the choices that you’ve made. Aging is the proof that you have lived your own share and not trying to hide that means that you have loved each day that you lived.


So, dear ladies and gentlemen… Stop dreading the only proof of your life. Stop dreading the age, embrace it.

4 comments:

Ranjan said...

Read this while watching The curious case of Benjamin Button.. can't seem more apt, can it?
You know aging is like falling in love with oneself or least trying to or making an attempt at doing just that.
As in the movie he is full of curiosity and yearning but failed by his body when he is old..he felt and looked good but his mind and thoughts failed him when he is young..his mid-life is where he found his happiest days in life.. and so it is with our lives (barring obvious changes).. we are curious and awkward with our bodies and thoughts when we are young..still awkward with our bodies and forgetful of our minds when we are old.. but almost wise and glorious and truly alive in our mid-lives..
30s a good place to be.. :)

Bombshell Ideas by Kriti Vajpeyi said...

Thank you so much, Ranjan.... :)

Unknown said...

How about relationships and how we deal with them oft time...

Bombshell Ideas by Kriti Vajpeyi said...

With age also comes a grace in handling relationships. That is when we start evolving, we realise the futility of ego and superficial sense of self-respect. We get the courage to say sorry when we are on the wrong side and we also get enough sense to say "no" when things have gone too far. Well, at least that would be the utopian aging if you ask me. :)

In general people also start killing their true selves just to please the ones around them which later leads to a bizarre conflict within their being.

The right thing to do in any relationship is to keep the channels of communication open and to keep an open mind.

My friend Manoj...

The last time I wrote on this blog was in 2018, at Manoj’s behest to lend voice to India’s ongoing MeToo campaign. Being a champion of women...