I’m not ashamed to admit that my favorite magazines are Real Simple and O Magazine. They’re inspiring and have good recipes and life hacking/efficiency ideas to boot. (Am I a middle aged woman at heart? Perhaps.) While I miss the days of Jane and Sassy, most “women’s” magazines now kind of suck. Instead of creating content for the readers, the writers in beauty editorial seem to work for the PR departments of major beauty brands who push them to advertise their products.
Anyway, I came across a quote I loved in January’s issue of O Magazine (the one with the very clearly photoshopped image of a lion and Oprah on the cover.) There’s a great article by writer Amy Maclin titled “Educating Amy,” about her experiences with self-help seminars and programs. In the article she talks about the aging anxiety she experienced in her 40s. There was one line that deeply resonated with me. She writes,“I still hadn’t grown up, and yet I was growing old.”
Have you ever felt that way? I have! I mean, I’m only 32, but I still feel at times like I’m either A) an insecure teenager, B) A wildly optimistic kid, C) an overly cerebral college junior, D) None of the above but clearly not a bonafide ‘adult.’
Maybe the answer to this aging anxiety is that we need to shift our ideas of what “growing up” means. Or maybe there’s really no such thing as “growing up” at all.
OMG I'm Thirty 
I like to think that no matter how much you “grow up” you only “grow old” if you let yourself. Chronological age in years is one thing. But if you stay young at heart…then I like to think you never really “grow old.”
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That is true Aaron however I used to play football & basketball and laugh at guys that played golf. Now the golfers are laughing at me because I suck at golf and too old to play anything else.
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Rico, that’s hilarious! Also, you’re NOT too old to play anything else…that’s the whole point 😉 I bet you can find something you like and can play that’s a heck of a lot more fun than golf 🙂
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Yes my mind says go but my body says no!!! I am too young for lawn bowling, shuffle board, my knees are shot so no racket sports or hiking. I may suck at golf but they do provide gas carts. Hit the ball,drive to the ball and hit it again, repeat until frustrated.
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I completely agree, Aaron! Thanks for commenting! 😀
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I am still very young but I have also felt ageing anxiety, as you put it. I turned eighteen the other day and I don’t feel like I am ready to really take on adulthood as my age suggests I should. I still feel like I am a child at times. This is a very relate-able article. I enjoyed reading it. 🙂
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Firstly, happy birthday, Nadine! Secondly, I’m glad you enjoyed reading the post. It’s also comforting to know we all feel this way sometimes.
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Thank you! 😀
It’s always comforting to know that others feel the same or a similar way too. 🙂
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Happy birthday Nadine!!! Thanks for the comment! I’m really stuck on the whole ‘adulthood doesn’t exist’..I’m pretty sure this is a true statement. Keep the child inside (outside?) alive! 🙂
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Thank you, Laura! 😀
I really like that idea. I think there will always be a child alive somewhere inside everyone no matter how old we get. 🙂
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Your post reminded of a Christmas gift my wife got from our children. A bumper sticker that said “Getting older is mandatory, growing up is optional”
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Love that.
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