I'm Getting Younger

Well maybe I'm not getting younger, but I am feeling younger. Not because of anything I've done intentionally, but because of the people around me. I've been carded three times this week when purchasing alcohol...and we're not going to even talk about the fact that I've purchased alcohol three times in the last 6 days. I'm not an alcoholic, just a teacher that needed to exhale a few times this week! The 3 times I was carded I wasn't wearing any makeup...goes to show you what makeup really does; it may make you look a little "better" but it also makes you look older! So no more makeup for me ;) Today my school had Spirit Day, and the Class of 06 was in charge of all the festivities. As faculty advisor for the class I felt that I should participate in some of the activities. So I was brave and decided to be one of the volunteers for "throw a pie in a teacher's face for $1." So for those of you that don't know me or haven't seen me in a while I have a really big Afro. Afro and pudding don't mix, so I had someone put my hair in 2 french braids last night. I look all of 10 years old right now. When I got to school today, no one really recognized me...eveyone kept looking for me looking right past me. Now I don't think a hairstyle really makes one look that different, but I discovered today that it does. Everyone thought I was a student, and for a 26 year old who feels like she's getting too old too fast, their inability to recognize me was quite the compliment. Several of my freshman were trying to guess my age, and one girl said "The absolute oldest you can be is 24!!!" I wanted to kiss her! But as I reflect on this week and how others made me feel, I started thinking "what's so bad about getting older?" Yes we live in an ageist society, but is this something we bring upon our selves? I don't know anyone beyond the age of 21 that looks forward to their next birthday. For us females, every birthday just gets us that close to menopause, and who wants to be menopausal??? Not I said the chief. But there are so many other good things that come with age...like maturity, wisdom, experiences that we learn from etc., but we always seem to focus on the negativity of getting older. A few weeks ago I got an invitation to my 10 year high school reunion and wanted to slit my wrists. When did I get so old? Was high school that long ago? So I try to make me feel better about myself by saying "You graduated at 16!" But still...I was a teenager 10 years ago! Damn it. When I was younger it I was so anxious about getting older, and it felt like my birthday came only once every two years...now it feels like it comes once every two months! I was always the youngest in my group of friends...now I'm always the oldest! WTF??? So I said all of that to say what is it about getting older that we all dread? Death? That could happen at any time...you don't have to be old to die...so what is it that we are so eager to avoid???