I remember looking at my grandmother and seeing wisdom. I had a profound respect for her. As I got older, I wish I had lived closer; I know I would have learned so much from her. She was a library of experience, and her very presence was a lesson in how to live.
The Cost of the Youth Obsession
But today? Older people, especially older women, are simply looked at as "old."
Our entire society is laser-focused on youth. It’s an exhausting, constant conditioning, pushing people to want to stay young—almost like a fear is instilled that aging is a failure.
I’m fortunate to have lived to be almost 70 years old. I don't see this as a problem to be solved; I see it as a privilege. There are many people who don't get this chance. Instead of being viewed as a blessing and treated with respect, age is now treated like a defect.
The Superficial Trap
This is where we have lost our way. Our society simply doesn't value the experience of older people. Instead, we value one thing above all: appearance.
The numbers tell the story: Girls and teens up to 19 are getting elective procedures, from nose jobs and ears to breast reductions. The volume of procedures for women aged 20 to 60 is in the millions. We have become a culture that values the superficial more than anything else.
My grandmother had hair that was a beautiful white. She wore practical house dresses with a sweater on her shoulders. She was beautiful. Her beauty was the kind you earn; it wasn’t manufactured.
By focusing so obsessively on appearance, we have lost so much. We've put immense pressure on women to live up to something superficial, a shallow ideal that is both impossible to maintain and ultimately worthless.
Reclaiming Our Value
I want a productive, content present and future. And I know you do too.
It’s time to push back on this youth-obsessed narrative. We need to remember that our value isn't measured by the smoothness of our skin or the absence of grey hair. Our value is in the decades of experience, the lessons learned, and the resilience built that allows us to stand here today.
We are not "just old." We are women who have earned our wisdom, and it’s a gold we should not let this society ignore.
