Britney Kirwan

Wow! You don’t look a day over thirty!

By Britney Kirwan

At one point or another we’ve all heard our mothers or grandmothers say things like, “When I was in my prime…” or “ Wear that dress while you still can!” It’s been ingrained in our minds from a young age that once we find a single gray hair on our heads or a wrinkle on our faces, our lives are downhill from there. But why?! Why have we young girls been manipulated into thinking that we have expiration dates?! 

I have always been excited to get older, and was always told that once you are older, you’ll wish you were younger. I’ll admit, being a kid who had no clue what was going on or didn’t have to worry about anything was a much simpler time, but I still would not wish to go back and be any younger than I am right now. Every year I learn more about myself and how the world works. I look up to women who are older than me because I know they hold much more knowledge and wisdom that I will only be able to have as I age. Age shouldn’t be something to hide, but something to embrace. Vintage wines are savored while vintage clothing is coveted, so why is it different for us as women? A 25-year-old should not have to be told that in another 25 years, she will be invisible no matter her successes.

We have anti-aging creams and botox marketed towards us in order to get rid of the lines around our eyebrows and mouths (a.k.a laughter lines). We should not have to worry about our happiness turning us “ugly”. We hold so much more value than our age or how “youthful” we look at the age of 60. Despite what society and the media have told us our whole lives, it is completely possible to live a happy, healthy, or even better life past our twenties. There’s so much more that goes into our lives than what’s seen on the surface. Aging should be seen as a privilege that not everyone will be able to experience, sadly. We need to change our mindsets and be grateful for the opportunity to be here another day and age in order to have a long, beautiful life.

Featured Image: trulybeauty.com

Originally published for University Girl Spring’ 23 Issue – Read Here: https://issuu.com/universitygirlsu/docs/ugirl_for_isssuu