FIFTY ISN’T AS SCARY AS YOU THINK AND HERE’S WHY

You just looked into the mirror and you have no idea who’s staring back. The nose is the same and maybe the eyes but those look a bit dim. The lids are drooping too. Is that a wrinkle on her forehead? Three??? Everything is sagging! Even those perky Double B’s. Oh no!

So you’re about to turn the big five ‘O’. Sure, you’ve lost your youthful glow but you have so many reasons to be grateful. The obvious one is that you made it. You’ve lived to hit that milestone. You get to see the people you love the most. And that is a blessing in itself. So take a deep breath and cheer up.

So to celebrate the beauty of growing older here’s why being 50 rocks!

With age, you learn to LET THINGS GO AND ENJOY LIVING. Remember when you were younger and days bled into each other only defined by routine. You were worried about how you looked, who said what, how much you made and all other anxiety-inducing thoughts. Well now’s the time to cast it all to the wind. Free yourself. And breathe. You’re done with the excess worries of life. Enjoy what life has to offer. A character in the movie “About Time”, says we should live every day like it is your final day, noticing all the little tensions that make life unbearable. This should be your approach towards life with this new age. You don’t have time to waste anymore. Treasure every second you do.

In the spirit of living your life, you can finally DO WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO. For one reason or the other, you weren’t able to pursue that passion or that dream you had growing up. Now you have the money and time to do it. So why not? Go ahead and do that seemingly silly thing you wanted to do. After all, Mary Wesley, one of Britain’s most successful novelists who sold three million copies of her books, was 71 when she published her first novel. You’ve probably heard this a thousand times but it never really is too late to live your dream. So let fifty mark the beginning of a new chapter of your life, a chapter where you do whatever you want when you want.

And talking about doing what you want, when you’re fifty, you can finally BE THE REAL YOU. You should always be yourself but there’s something liberating about aging. You don’t need to be what anyone wants. No one expects things from you. You don’t have to meet anyone’s standards. It is just you being you. Take a look at Kerry, owner of a travel blog, who is fifty-something and has sold her home and belongings, taken a career break and is traveling the UK and the rest of Europe. Fifty is the next stage of your life so embrace this new age and enjoy all the fabulous things about being 50!

By Okim-Orake Nyambi Akpet