“I’m not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You’re as old as you feel.”

-Elizabeth Arden

I chose to share this quote from Elizabeth Arden because I couldn’t help but reflect a bit about my own age today…  

My (much!) younger cousin is beginning as a freshman at Rutgers University this fall.  I am so excited that he is going there because (well, I graduated from there, and) it is a great school!  I was thrilled to take him around campus today and show him where his classes will be, where the libraries are, how the bus routes and schedules run, and other things like some good places to eat, get his hair cut, shop, and see plays (though I don’t think he was too interested in the last two).   We also bought his textbooks while we were there and visited his residence hall.  We covered a lot in a short amount of time!  I think he was a little overwhelmed by it all, but I know he will do great there and in a few months he will probably have a ton of things to tell me about and show me on campus!

It has been many years since I was a student at Rutgers and many, many years since I was in my cousin’s shoes and just starting there.  It brought back a lot of memories for me!  It was funny though, because rather than feel how many years have passed since then or how long ago it was, I couldn’t help but relive all of those wonderful memories and feel how magical a time it was (even if I admittedly didn’t entirely appreciate it then).  I didn’t feel older walking around the campus with him at all today, I actually felt younger!

This brings me back to today’s quote because on three (yes, three) separate occasions while I was with my cousin and my aunt, people thought that I (not he) was the new student!  At two different bookstores and the residence hall, the people there addressed me as the new student.  I couldn’t help but get such a kick out of it!  I think because I felt  so“young” people saw me that way.  It made my day and just goes to show you that you really are only as old as you feel.  (I doubt that I would be mistaken for a college student on a regular basis, but maybe now I won’t hesitate to show my college ID at the movies and save the dollar or so on the ticket price… 🙂 )

It breaks my heart whenever I hear people say that they are “too old” for something or that things (usually the most fun things) should be left to people who are younger.  Who says?  And, better yet – who cares?  I think that as a society we are so concerned with avoiding old age, that we miss out on our youth and then don’t learn how to appreciate each stage of our lives while we are in them. Each year is part of our journey.  Each year is necessary, and as most things that move sequentially go, we save the best for last.  Think fondly of the years that you have already lived, and enjoy the one you are living now!

I will end this post with another quotation that you may have already heard before:

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?”  

-Satchel Paige

Now, think about how you would honestly answer that question and post a comment to let us know!  

~Melissa 🙂