The good the bad and difficult things that come with aging
This post is made possible with support from AARP Cincuentañeros™ and #WeAllGrow Latina Network. All opinions are my own.
The good the bad and difficult things that come with aging! I came from a “blogger conference ” and for those of you that have never been to one I must tell you that it is the most amazing and terrifiying thing ever; you learn, you connect and you try to shamelessly promote yourself which can be exhausting and draining.
As you age I must confess promoting myself has become easier because in theory, I know myself better than anyone else and I feel comfortable in my own skin, but with social media being all about image, girlll it has become harder and harder to be around other content creators.
I got invited to a very nice conversation with AARP about disrupting age “The Cincuentañeros™”, a topic that to be totally honestly I didn’t really like until now.
The Cincuentañeros™ movement promotes a more contemporary perspective on aging to help the Latino community celebrate life, learn from one another and feel empowered at any life stage. It serves as a culturally meaningful expression of the #DisruptAging ethos in the Latino community, challenging outdated beliefs and sparking new solutions so more people can decide how they live and age.
Cincuentañeros has two meanings: the OUTDATED one we’ve heard before or the one that reflects how we really live today! It’s all about being someone who lives life “sin cuenta” – without counting, agelessly/refusing to be defined (or held back) by age.
Ageism affects people of all ages. This campaign is focused on connecting with individuals across the age spectrum, to create an inclusive space for an honest bi-lingual conversation about what it means to age – the good the bad and difficult things that come with aging!
I usually don’t like to talk about my age, mainly because for me it’s just an number and because society tends to decide what you can or can’t do based on your age but I am the only one that knows what I can or can’t do.
Yes, I am very proud of my age, an age that only my family and my loved friends know, but I don’t need anyone to validate how much I’m worth or how much I have accomplished or not based on my age.
I don’t really talk about age on my platforms – let me rephrase that – I do talk about age in the matter of protecting your health and your family as you age, but I don’t talk about age as a NUMBER. This is a space to be YOU, love the way you are without a number and this why I am joining AARP because they understand aging like nobody else and their campaign “disrupting aging” is my mantra.
I am proud of my age, but I refuse to hear anyone say:
- You look great for you age
- At your age?
- You don’t look like a mom. (How is a mom supposed to look?)
- How old are you again?
- This is age appropriate
My age is “forever young” . Last week at an event, a girl was very persistant in asking for my age; “You have a 17 year old daughter, how do you look so young? Were you a teen mom? I am 34 and you look younger, how is that possible?” I smiled and said “I am forever young”.
Every time you ask for my age I will always say “I am forever young”. Why? because that is how I feel and I won’t allow anyone to tell me otherwise.
One thing I learned at this amazing AARP dinner is that age is a delicate matter that can hit you at any age. I may be having age “issues” now (to call it somehow), but many women are facing age issues at a very young age.
Luckily I found AARP wich is opening a conversation about aging, money, health, and love and it doesn’t matter how old you are.
They celebrate all those who own their age feauturing new ways of living and aging, and the products and solutions that make this possible partnering with companies and communities to create new solutions that work for all of us at any age.
They get those stories -Yours and my stories- out there to change the conversation about age.