The #10yearchallenge
Facebook’s most recent viral sensation, the “10 Year Challenge” had everyone’s feed full of “Now and Then” photos last week. Missed it? It was simple: you posted a pic of yourself 10 years ago next to a more recent one…and let’s be honest…waited for comments like, “You haven’t aged a day!” or “You still look the same to me!” to roll in from anyone who would offer them up.
But also in the vein of honesty, you know what I loved most about this challenge? THAT LITERALLY EVERYONE LOOKED OLDER—every single person. And you know why that is? Because they are older. We all are. And you know what else? It is completely normal to look 10 years older when you are 10 years older. Why are we made to think that we aren’t?
Above is my #10yearchallenge. The left is me 10 years ago on vacation in Tortola. The right is me at the beach on Cape Cod over the summer. While my love for the beach hasn’t changed in a decade, let’s be real, my face has…and my body…and contrary to what we’re told all the time—especially as women, it’s perfectly ok.
It is ok that at age 35, I don’t look like my 25-year-old self anymore. In fact, I will never look 25 again—no matter how hard I try. No matter what products I buy. No matter what angles and filters I use when taking a selfie. It is ok, and it’s about time that I—that everyone—started believing that it was.
And fine, I’ll be honest (again). There are some symptoms of my fading youth that I purposefully tried to filter out in the photo on the right, but man, even the soft touch filter can’t hide the fact that I’ve spent a lot of time in the sun. And while you can definitely see the wrinkles around my eyes, there are a few other fun things you can’t see…
Like the broken blood vessels that dot my chest from “solar radiation.” Time to research laser surgery and stock up on crewnecks.
Or the bulging vein (I’m not ready to call it a varicose vein yet) on my left thigh that my doctor thinks is probably just genetics. Is this why middle-aged women are always wearing capris in the summer instead of shorts?!
You also can’t see how it kind of hurts to lay on the floor now, or how my joints crack and pop when I move around, or how I can somehow manage to injure myself lifting a 12-pound dumbbell, sleeping (this one is the worst, isn’t it?), or doing something really basic like putting on my boots (true story, this happened last weekend).
And what you really can’t see is the newfound hypochondria that I’ve developed in my 30s, where every time something is slightly off with my physical health, I assume it is the actual worst case scenario and work myself into a WebMD-induced frenzy. Is this normal? Someone else tell me they do this too. And then maybe we can be accountability partners and stop freaking doing it?
I know I’m still “young” technically, but wow, aging is a trip. A trip that doesn’t feel easy most of the time too (please no one who is older tell me how much worse it gets, I’m not ready to hear it).
Can you tell that I haven’t quite made peace with all of this just yet?
I’m working on it though. It’s a transition. And it will continue to be one. But what the 10 Year Challenge has shown me is that I’m not alone in it. It’s been refreshing to see a whole stream of photos that prove that no matter how good we all still look (we look great guys, we really do!), we are indeed getting older…and it is what it is.
I do have to add though that in the midst of mulling all this over, I was buying wine at Trader Joe’s and got carded—score number one. But then the cashier really took it to the next level and told me that she would have guessed that I was born in ‘93, not ‘83—double score.
STILL GOT IT.
Back to reality though Danne…you’re still 35. Aging is unavoidable and inevitable—even if all your Facebook friends and the nice lady at Trader Joe’s try to convince you otherwise.
p.s. I loved this article by Sloane Crowsley on “giving up the chase for eternal youth”. Amen sister. ✌🏻
