Beauty (of every kind) Waits For No One
I recently watched a Ted Talks featuring a psychologist named Meg Jay on why 30 is not the new 20. In it, she explains that because life expectancy has improved in recent times and advancements in healthcare have provided allowances in how long we now can wait to have children, many have come to think of 30 as the new 20, and as a result of this notion are throwing away their 20s with carefree fun instead of using these years to their advantage. Watching this segment, I could see what she was talking about. I already had a similar view of my twenties, but I like her reasoning. Our twenties are "extra time" that we get to use to prepare for our thirties, so that when we get to that stage in life, we're not freaking out and saying "omg, I have to settle down, I have to find someone, I have to get my career moving now, omg what have I been doing with my life? I had so much time..." Thirty is the new mid-life crisis. If we don't take the opportunity to prepare that our twenties represent, we get to our thirties and we're in a mad rush to get our life in order, and as you know, nothing good comes from rushing.
Now, this is all very heavy, and you'll be relieved to hear that all this has really been a segway into a discussion about my philosophy on skincare and such! Please take my fatalistic approach with a grain of salt, by the way. You see, similar to how we prepare for life, we need to look at our twenties not as a time to take our beauty and health for granted, but as a time to fight for them, to prevent cancer, cataracts, dry wrinkly skin, etc. When it comes to health and beauty, prevention is the name of the game. Unless you're a wealthy heiress, there's no going back and fixing things later, with extreme measures like plastic surgery and the like. So doesn't it make sense to care for yourself before there's a problem? This is the best starting point you're going to get!
A lot of twenty-somethings take their bodies - and their minds, for that matter - for granted. They neglect their sight with sub-par eye protection, they forget to protect their skin with sunscreen, they don't wear hats to keep the sun from baking their faces - in fact, they just plain bake themselves... on purpose. Sure, you bounce back for the most part during these years, but it will take its toll soon, nonetheless.
So I ask, is it worth it? Why do we neglect what we value the most - our health? Not to mention that we care about beauty but don't do our part in preserving it. Why are we as a culture so fixated on damage control but so oblivious to the things we can do in terms of prevention? It's so much easier to prevent damage than to repair it. Why do we think we're too young for extra moisturising? You can use an eye cream or a day cream at any age. Why must we be so tan in the summer? Don't forget that there's a price to tanning, a price you may only find out about when it's too late. Is it worth it? Think about it. You can't block all of the sun's harmful rays; were that the case, wouldn't sunscreen prevent you from tanning? Tanning means that UVs are penetrating the skin, and burning it to its golden hue. And when it comes to vision... that's hard to repair. You can't put sunscreen in your eyes, and you can't put a price on good vision. Investing in good eyewear for all seasons is a good idea.
The same can be said for tastes and habits. Meg Jay mentions something very interesting in her lecture: our last brain "growth spurt" happens in our late twenties. This is the time to develop interests, to change things we want to change about the way we approach life, to tweak our personalities. In other words, this is the time to explore! Explore everything life has to offer, and continue to do so throughout your life. Try that whisky you thought you hated. Read things you didn't feel like reading before. Smell things, taste things, be brave in the kitchen. Remember how you sucked at math? Try again! Explore. Explore YOU.
A lot of us didn't like who we were in highschool and are more satisfied with ourselves in our twenties, and when you think of who you are now (in your twenties), is that exactly who you think you should be in your thirties? If not, you are likely still on your way to being that person. You just need to press on.
Until next time, take care of yourselves and your bodies during this hot, sunny season. Have a great day and thanks for reading!
A.
Now, this is all very heavy, and you'll be relieved to hear that all this has really been a segway into a discussion about my philosophy on skincare and such! Please take my fatalistic approach with a grain of salt, by the way. You see, similar to how we prepare for life, we need to look at our twenties not as a time to take our beauty and health for granted, but as a time to fight for them, to prevent cancer, cataracts, dry wrinkly skin, etc. When it comes to health and beauty, prevention is the name of the game. Unless you're a wealthy heiress, there's no going back and fixing things later, with extreme measures like plastic surgery and the like. So doesn't it make sense to care for yourself before there's a problem? This is the best starting point you're going to get!
A lot of twenty-somethings take their bodies - and their minds, for that matter - for granted. They neglect their sight with sub-par eye protection, they forget to protect their skin with sunscreen, they don't wear hats to keep the sun from baking their faces - in fact, they just plain bake themselves... on purpose. Sure, you bounce back for the most part during these years, but it will take its toll soon, nonetheless.
So I ask, is it worth it? Why do we neglect what we value the most - our health? Not to mention that we care about beauty but don't do our part in preserving it. Why are we as a culture so fixated on damage control but so oblivious to the things we can do in terms of prevention? It's so much easier to prevent damage than to repair it. Why do we think we're too young for extra moisturising? You can use an eye cream or a day cream at any age. Why must we be so tan in the summer? Don't forget that there's a price to tanning, a price you may only find out about when it's too late. Is it worth it? Think about it. You can't block all of the sun's harmful rays; were that the case, wouldn't sunscreen prevent you from tanning? Tanning means that UVs are penetrating the skin, and burning it to its golden hue. And when it comes to vision... that's hard to repair. You can't put sunscreen in your eyes, and you can't put a price on good vision. Investing in good eyewear for all seasons is a good idea.
The same can be said for tastes and habits. Meg Jay mentions something very interesting in her lecture: our last brain "growth spurt" happens in our late twenties. This is the time to develop interests, to change things we want to change about the way we approach life, to tweak our personalities. In other words, this is the time to explore! Explore everything life has to offer, and continue to do so throughout your life. Try that whisky you thought you hated. Read things you didn't feel like reading before. Smell things, taste things, be brave in the kitchen. Remember how you sucked at math? Try again! Explore. Explore YOU.
A lot of us didn't like who we were in highschool and are more satisfied with ourselves in our twenties, and when you think of who you are now (in your twenties), is that exactly who you think you should be in your thirties? If not, you are likely still on your way to being that person. You just need to press on.
Until next time, take care of yourselves and your bodies during this hot, sunny season. Have a great day and thanks for reading!
A.
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