“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” – Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

As the above quote suggests, aging is an art from. It’s the process of taking a shambolic scene of shattered glass and transforming it into a chromatically captivating mosaic.

In other words, aging is about discovering new shards of glass (new aspects of yourself) and embracing their piercing exterior in times of darkness, happiness, and fury.

It isn’t just a means of getting older, it’s not just a stairway to an inevitable end – it’s about becoming the best possible version of yourself.

And so today, we will be discussing 3 types of changes we all experience with the coming of age.

Rest assured, by the end of this read you’ll come to see aging as more of a blessing than a curse.

#1. Physical Appearance

Yes, when aging comes to mind you can’t help but think about how your outward self is changing right before your eyes.

You’d sometimes stalk the mirror just to keep track of how tall you’ve gotten, if you stopped growing entirely, searching for bald spots, facial hair, grey hairs, wondering if you’ll ever grow into that bra, and pondering about those pesky wrinkles.

Like seriously, are they only there when I worry or frown?

Face it; we’ve all given into a little vanity and felt self-conscious about our looks before. And there’s truly nothing wrong with that. It shows you love yourself enough to give a damn about how you look.

Furthermore, I’ve realized that as you get older you start embracing certain physical traits you would have been extremely insecure about in the past.

For me, I was uber-self-conscious about my skinniness. I was a literal branch and felt inferior to those of a bulkier build. I was constantly comparing my inward upper body and lanky structure to others and making myself miserable in the process.

I even remember this one time during Physical Education class in high school. Class had ended and I was changing back into my uniform and one of the guys in my class goes “Bro, what happened to your chest?!” His face was rather incredulous too, as if we was staring at some mutant or unknown species.

In that moment, I didn’t know how to respond. Nobody likes being put on the spot about something they’re not comfortable discussing. Oddly enough, he didn’t foist the question on me in a malicious manner, so clapping back would’ve been unwarranted.

Besides, I was just caught off-guard by the directness of his query and how hard it hit my insecurity in the jocular. So I responded by shrugging and mousing something along the lines of “That’s just how it is.”

After the incident I recall a series of attempts to change my body. I started going to the gym, eating more protein-oriented meals, and the whole process of trying to morph into this idealized brand of masculinity just made me unhappy.

So eventually, I stopped trying and started embracing my slenderman- esque body. I began buying and wearing clothes that showcased my match-stick build. I rocked shorts that had my melanated chopsticks on display.

And I found myself genuinely happy with how much I’ve grown to love myself and how comfortable I was with the way I looked.

In the past, my skinniness was an insecurity that cut deep and caused a lot of unpleasantly scarring moments. But now, it’s a shiny part of my mosaic.

So people please, learn how to love the skin you’re in. Because chances are, those “physical anomalies” are just accentuating pieces waiting to be accepted and added to the wonderful work of art that is you.

#2. Intellectual Stimulation

It comes as no surprise that as you get older and mature, you start thinking differently. Your thoughts become more analytical, meaningful, and intricate.

(Some of us that is. No shade, some people don’t mature with their age. They find themselves recycling the same behaviors, mentality, and chain of thought that currently has them stagnant in life – cemented in the same place as they were yesterday.)

But for those of us who are noticing a change in what stimulates us on this level, you know that it’s a stream of consciousness that just seems to spew  every time something of interest is being discussed.

And you also know or begin to realize that not everyone has an appreciation for this newfound level of internal maturity. Some may go as far as accusing you of acting “different” or being “fake”.

But their lack of understanding may stem from the fact that you’ve simply outgrown their company. (Read more about outgrowing people here.)

Additionally, you begin to understand yourself more; you’re identifying the things that you’re passionate and excited to engage in lengthy discourse about.

Whether its music, art, writing, politics, animation, science, psychology, etc., you begin searching for more info on these things and better yourself within these fields.

And discovering yourself through passions and ambitions is one of the best things that comes with age. With an assurance of your ideals and interests in mind, you can now push toward creating meaningful projects, initiatives, and movements whether it be academically, personally, or nationally.

So embrace your intellectual beckonings, feed them daily in knowledge and pursuit. Trust me, someday you’ll be able to make a true difference in the world around you.

#3. Social Awareness

As you get older, you begin paying closer attention to who surround yourself with. Intellect is one thing that unsurprisingly plays a role in this.

I mean let’s be real here, you’d rather spend time with people you can relate to and speak to for hours on-end without it being awkward or tiring instead of people who bore you with their frivolity.

In fact, the people who are able to show you new, interesting perspectives on things are the type of people you now find yourself gravitating toward. And it’s okay to dwell with like-minded company.

There are too many instances in our lives where we waste time being around people who just exude negative energy. So you find yourself getting used to the idea of having a plethora of acquaintances but only a handful of actual, close friends.

Hell, sometimes you just want to be left alone and can properly identify those moments and act accordingly. And it’s nothing anyone should take offense to. Yet, if you’re surrounding yourself with people who wish to understand you, then you’ll have less problems period.

Truly, age evokes wisdom and the spirit of discernment overtime. Except the fact that your social circles are changing and that sometimes it’s for the best.

**Final Thoughts**

With age, comes great responsibility. You now owe it to yourself to become a better version of you year-after-year. Like true art, aging can’t be rushed.

It takes time, numerous series of trial and error, learning from past missteps and history, as well as applying that newly acquired knowledge.

So as you age, find comfort in the piercing shards of yourself. Put together the shambles of your physical, intellectual, and social self and make something beautiful.

It isn’t always a graceful process, but it can be a truly rewarding one.

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Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you next time on Introverted-Insight!

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