I've started to realize as I've gotten older that everyone seems to be complaining about how old they are. I see commercials and advertisements on how I can get rid of the wrinkles on my face, or how thirty is the new fifty. I hear my twenty-one year old friends saying, "Oh my God, I'm so old!" and I hear people complaining about gray hair, wrinkles, and the amount of candles on their birthday cakes. When did aging become bad? When did progressing through life become a burden and not a privilege?
On any given day I can turn on the TV and see people dying, children dying. People dying because of tragedies like Paris or because of terrible terminal illnesses. I would bet all of those people would have given anything to get a few wrinkles on their faces. However, they can't, and I think we all owe it to not only them, but to ourselves to embrace aging.
When I was in eighth grade a boy in my class passed away tragically. I didn't personally know him, but let me tell you, it shook my community to its core. It showed us all that life is so fragile and no one is guaranteed time. Since that day I have sworn that I won't look at aging as some negative entity. Life is hard and there are tough times, but there are also so many adventures to be had.
My point is, why are we throwing our lives away out of fear of living them? Every single day on this Earth is the greatest gift that any one of us could ever receive and I think its time to start remembering that. Embrace the wrinkles, welcome the grey hair, and blow out all those candles with pride. Don't look at each day as a nuisance or some type of loss. The fact that you woke up means you are winning. Each year that passes, each gray hair that finds its way onto your head, and every single one of those candles on your birthday cake are a privilege and a blessing.
