Just the Way You Are

A kid who has just turned 20 complains that she's "Too old!"
I scoff at such nonsense. You have no idea what you are talking about.  No, the kid really doesn't.

For the past 10 so years, I had always thought that if you were over 35, you would be in the category of middle age. I recently discovered that it's not always the case.
According to Wikipedia, definition of middle age is "around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings." and the categorization varies from 40-60 to 35-44. In Japan, 中年, reads chuu-nen and means middle age in Japanese, seems to be considered someone in their 40's and 50's in general.

I am feeling somewhat cheated. I could have enjoyed 5 more years of not feeling middle-aged! Silly as it sounds, all these years after 35, I told myself I was middle-aged and refrained from saying I was young but instead admitted I was chuu-nen. For what? To appear modest and wise, I guess. There definitely was a social pressure to "act your age" in the world I used to belong and if you didn't fit into the stereotypes, you would either be labeled as "childish" or with approval and admiration, "don't look like one".

I consider childishness is unpleasant quality. Three things I deplore in others are selfishness, arrogance and childishness. But what is this fuss about not looking like one's age? Demi Moore tweets with her naked self-portrait and people praise her less than 10% fat lean body. It's wonderful to be that fit, I admit. My problem is these over-used phrases like "Can't believe she is 48!" which Japanese media love to use. It's a crime for someone who gets paid for what they write to use such unimaginative headlines. I can easily name 5 people around me whom you wouldn't believe in their 40's and they are not Hollywood stars. They never had plastic surgery or use Botox regularly. It's 21st century. People's lives vary and so do their appearances. People don't look their age anymore.

I look around and see a woman who is very slim, wears kids' clothing without looking odd or childish. She knows her style and it suits her. She has a fair amount of freckles on her face. She must love outdoors and must have spent a lot of time being in the sun. Her beautiful freckles are the kisses of the sun. She is 46.
When I look at Meg White in the documentary video of the White Stripes, what I see is a laconic, camera shy woman with a pair of perfect doll-like legs who takes a nap on a sofa with a lit cigarette between her fingers. When she sits behind her candy cane drum set, approximately half a pound of fat tissue sits around her gorgeous tummy. She looks as perfect as Venus. I don't know her age and I don't care.

What I want to say here is that it doesn't matter how old we look. Let's not DOB or stereotypes dictate us. It's not important if we look young or old for our age. What matters is that we look the best we can and being able to feel comfortable with ourselves. Imperfectness is nature. We are perfect just the way we are.