Did you know we’re afraid of getting older? The world spends about $274 billion on anti-aging products such as creams and Botox. The obsession the world has on looking younger can never go undetected. The older you get the more “invisible” you become, due to all the emphasis we put to look younger. A phrase that I’ve frequently been hearing is that seniors are considered “the forgotten ones” and that term just baffles me. How can someone so valuable suddenly become invisible? Like I stated before society puts a large emphasis on staying young, but as a society, we need to understand that getting older is something we can’t stop.

I recently saw a TedTalk video with a woman name Scilla Elworthy, who goes in depth as to why we are so afraid of getting older. She asks questions such as, is it the fear of death or is it an emptiness inside that makes us put all our efforts on our outside? Which are questions we should really think about? As humans we tend to not be satisfied and once we’ve gained what we have strived for we look for bigger and better options. We should always focus on the here and now instead of what we could have changed.

Further along in the video Elworthy explains that the obsession of becoming younger is robbing us of who we are, our sense of self, wisdom, usefulness and it’s cheating us on the real contribution we can give to this world. If you think about it, we are being cheated. We tend to focus on things that are not important and forget what the real reason to why we are here. When a senior is asked, what is their secret to getting to the age they are? A huge percentage of them says, “being happy.” Your happiness should be the number one thing you strive for. You should never let society influence you by what they show in magazines or on tv. Being content with what is what you already have is the greatest gift to yourself.

Moreover, obsession with image is tiring. If we put our efforts inward, we start focusing on what really our life is about. We learn what makes us happy and what makes us feel electric. “The most classically beautiful woman can be unappealing if she isn’t fully alive in her body; if she doesn’t have that vibrancy. Energy and aliveness is that source of attractiveness” (Elworthy). Once you gained self-worth and know what you really want, the small things tend to matter less and less.

In conclusion, getting older is a beautiful thing. Don’t let society show you and influence you on how to live your life. A study conducted by nurses, who asked their dying patients, what their 5 major regrets were, showed the number one answer is “I wish I had the courage to live a life more true to myself”. Never worry about becoming the “forgotten one” and have gratitude for the life you have.