When I cross path with my neighbours, who are young(er) professionals, I can’t help but wonder if they see me as a peer or as the old lady next door. Is it enough that I wear the same sneakers that they wear to be on the same level? The message I sent them one night asking to turn down the music certainly didn’t help. My 30-year-old self would never have believed that, ten years later, I’d been sending a message to complain about loud music at night – it wasn’t event that late! I don’t miss partying, but mostly because I don’t feel as fresh the next day as I used to be. On top of that, I have become more conscious about the effects of alcohol on our health – my body has made that very clear. I wish I had known how important it is to eat well twenty years ago. I thought I was hopelessly addicted to sugar and that there was nothing I could do about it. It was actually in my hands, I just needed to adjust what I eat throughout the day, especially in the morning. I used to proudly tell friends that I started my day with chocolate because it woke me up faster than coffee. How wrong I was.
When I was a student, I used to go running in the park; it made me feel the strength of my body. I could feel that way again, but who has time to go to the park in the morning? Did I fully appreciate the free time and flexibility of student life? The best part of that period was sharing a flat with friends, so many amazing friendships started like that. I don’t like to live alone, I even tried once to be 100% sure, and failed.
I don’t know how you feel about ageing. Personally, it’s not a topic I think about lightly. Even though I sincerely think that getting old is a privilege, which is taken away from too many people around the world – and I have been feeling happier and happier the older I get, I also feel my body getting more tired and aching, lack of sleep more difficult to cope with. If this makes me the old lady next door in cool sneakers, so be it—I’ll own it. And I might surprise them with pink hair someday.
Blabbering of a millennial 