The Ages of Ageism

Welcome to another year in our lives, a fitting time to remember that if there's one thing that's truly personal, it's age. Everyone carries it as they wish or as they can. But it seems that's not the case. According to the unappealable verdict of the majority, life gets interesting when we're still too young to do certain things, and its social decline begins when we're no longer old enough to do those same things.

There are always those who keep you informed about what you can and shouldn't do at your age. Therefore, knowing other people's ages is essential so that these self-appointed experts can pass judgment that no one asked for. They don't look at you, they look at your ID, which is easier: "How many years apart is this couple?", "If you're 64, I suppose you'll retire soon," "She got divorced at 67," "That one, who had a husband, left him at 5 at her age?", "You should have seen her, going all out at 4 in the morning," "She got a boob job," "She dyes her hair," "She doesn't dye it"... You never get it right.

It seems that it doesn't matter if you're healthy or not, the age at which you had children or your parents died, your level of job satisfaction, the price you've had to pay for a wrong decision, the tastes you've refined over time, the discoveries you've made late in life because of a decision you finally dared to make.

We probably do it too, because we compare ourselves and because it's easier for us to decide we're too old for certain things. We judge a lot based on age, failing to think for a moment about other people's lives and savor the charm of each life being lived differently, thankfully.