If anyone truly knows me, then they know that aging is what keeps me up at night.

I can’t recall the moment I obtained this phobia. Like a pimple, I happened to have it one day. But, I can retell the events which prove that my fear is very real and extremely terrifying.

For example, my eyes were a fountain after I watched the finale of "Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life" because I believed my childhood ended with it. I also cringed at the touch of my roommate because she was 20; yes, it was on her birthday. Occasions like these seem to occur more often now and some may argue that it’s part of my daily life.

Thus, I felt the need to take control of my fear and get over it once in for all. So here are three steps that I chose to live by and hopefully help you!

1. Find the root of the problem.

Like any troubling matter, it’s best to attack the source because there’s less of a chance for its reappearance. For some, it might be the passing of youth but for me, it was the loss of time that fueled my distress. Whenever I woke up to a new day, I always felt a little sad because a new day meant less time to achieve a career, to reach my dreams, or to do whatever. Luckily, with the help of my friends, I learned by living in fear, I wasn’t living at all. By waking up with a gloomy mentality, I was also going to bed unsatisfied with what I accomplished that day. Thus, I never felt satisfied with myself or my life. By recognizing this, I now know to wake up each morning thankful and happy for the day ahead. In doing so, I now fall asleep pleased in how I spent the day and excited to spend the next.

Okay, you don’t have to go crazy and move to Australia. But, I’m sure that some people get tired of living a routine. Whenever I find myself in a monotonous schedule, every day seems like the day before. As a result, I seem to lose sight of my goals and forget why I do the things I do. This then leads to the idea “I’m losing time to do things and my life isn’t going anywhere.” I discovered that stimulating my curiosity and creativity helps to fight against this. I now try and set time to go to an exhibit, read a new book, or simply walk in a park so a day doesn’t seem too similar to the day before.

3. Understand that you're just changing.

I’m still working on this one, but the idea is to see age in a positive light and believe that you’re only changing with time. Just recently, I determined that a big part of my phobia was also the fear of change. However, it’s with passing time that people experience new things and make mistakes. As a result, it’s only natural for one to adapt along the way and transform. Easier said than done, but think of it this way, it’s not aging that changes you but the incidents that come with it. I’d like to think that I changed for the better.