We want to look good, actually scrap that we want to look great! Women, and even men spend hundreds of dollars a year on products to help them look great! It is estimated that the cosmetic industry brings in over 55 billion a year! Seems crazy doesn’t it? We put so much focus on beauty, on how we look. Australians spent 1 billion on cosmetic surgery treatments last year, the UK around 3 billion, and Americans a huge 12 billion! Australians are often starting younger than other countries due to sun damage. The average age now is our mid thirties!

So what does that mean for me, I am now in my late thirties, almost in my forties, so am I behind the game? Do people look at me and think I look old? And should I actually care if they do? Is there anything wrong with looking 39? I mean I am 39 so shouldn’t I celebrate that, and the way I look.

In 39 years I have lived through the great and the not so great, and the terrible, here is a brief look at some events in my life;

  • I’ve made amazing friends who have made me laugh so hard that I probably gained some wrinkles.
  • I lost one of my best ever friends which made me cry so much that I probably gained more wrinkles.
  • I gave birth to 3 babies, which gave me some stretch marks, and my boobs not as perky.
  • I stressed a lot, over will I ever find true love, will I have a baby, loosing babies, and now raising 3 children, all of which has added to the appearance of some grey hairs and yes probably added a wrinkle or two (OK maybe 3 or 4).
  • University Exams, yep add some wrinkles there.
  • Partying too hard whilst at uni, probably added to the health of my skin and maybe not so good on my kidneys and liver either.
  • Living in Australia with very hot summers and loads of days at the beach, yep some freckles and skin damage.

 

See here is the proof, I am going to snap a selfie with my phone of how I look right now, not even going to put lippy on or fix my hair, I didn’t even straighten it this morning. Today I have been doing school drop off, running around doing jobs that needed doing, hanging out washing and by 3:05 I was back to pick up the kids. Ok bad lighting inside, I’ll head outside you can see my wrinkles much better in natural light.

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But that is life, well my life anyway, and it is what has made me who I am, so what if the world see’s that! I mean shouldn’t we be celebrated for more than our looks, don’t we have more to offer the world than our shiny hair, white teeth and perky boobs?  I am not saying I wouldn’t ever have something done, maybe I would, but I still want to be worth more than how I look.

I am a woman, and I want to be appreciated for my wisdom, my strength, my wacky sense of humour, my ability to laugh at myself, my supportive nature, my self confidence and my femininity. Shouldn’t all women be celebrated for their strength and wisdom, not their looks?

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So what reasons do I have for looking forward to getting older? Well here is somethings I have already learnt is my wise old young age!

When I was younger I was so concerned about whether people liked me. I would have done just about anything to feel accepted. (Not jump off a bridge or taken drugs, but still I would have done a lot). I think the older we get the more we realise that we need to be true to who we are. We accept that not everyone is going to like us. We just don’t suit everyone, and that is OK. Like my writing for example, I can’t write something that everyone will relate to, or that everyone will like, so I write for me and I hope that what I write will help some people and that some people will relate and some may even find inspiration to follow their dreams, or make changes in their lives that make them happy. I hope that some people will say ‘yes I feel that too‘, or some will laugh or cry with me. Not everyone will, and I am OK with that!

As we age I think we also become less self absorbed! Life isn’t so much about ME. Yes I still think it is important to have ‘me time’, and to look after myself, consider ‘my needs’, (no one is any good to anyone without taking care of themselves), but what I mean is that we become more aware that others have needs too. We become more aware that the world doesn’t exist just for us, there is a whole wide world out there and we want to make it a better place. We also realise that we don’t have to be wealthy or famous to do it. We can all make a difference, and not just through donating money. We can donate our time, use our individual skills, foster a child, adopt a pet, help at a shelter, speak out about important issues, and just be a kinder more open minded person. We all have skills and gifts that we can offer.

When we are young we think we know it all (and usually our parents don’t have clue)! As we age we realise at 16 we knew nothing and that at 19 we knew barely a thing as we went out into the big wide world, we had so much to learn! Somethings we had to learn the hard way. I didn’t always want to learn. But as I got older I gained a thirst for knowledge, I enjoy being challenged. I don’t always have to be right, I have opened myself up to other’s opinions. I love hearing what others have to teach me. It makes me laugh now that all those times I thought my parents didn’t have a clue I now know that had more than a clue, they were spot on! I wish so much that my Grandparents were still around I have so much I want to ask them, so much I want to learn from them.

Again as we mature I think we grow more confidence in our decisions. We realise that we have to take responsibility for the choices we make, we can no longer blame our parents, teachers or others. But it is a good thing as it makes us take control over our own destiny and it makes us stronger. Taking responsibility helps us become more confident and self aware, and we become able to make better and more definite decisions.

One of my favourite things about getting older is not needing so much validation from others. I used to be so worried if my outfit was not the latest fashion or expensive enough that I would be judged. I used to worry that people wouldn’t like my taste in home decor or  my taste in music. Now to be honest I don’t care. I am comfortable in my own style, in fact I think it is great that people have different styles and like different things. I don’t want to be a cookie cuter clone of anyone else, I am me, with my own thoughts, opinions and tastes. I love hearing others opinions and I admire them for their individuality, but I am now happy and comfortable enough to show people the real me!

So there you have it, the reasons why I am happy to be getting older, not old, just older. Do you agree? Do feel more confident than you did when you were younger? Do you feel you need less validation from others?

Thanks for joining me, love Mac xx

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