aging

Over the almost 40 years that I’ve been on this planet, I’ve absorbed the message — whether it’s about my hair, pale skin, or the size of particular body parts — that I’m too much.

Even though I love how I look in those picture-perfect selfies, I love the less than flawless photos too, and I’m not going to stop sharing them.

I found my first gray hair when I was 12 years old. Twelve. I had gray hair before I had a period.

“Introducing Nexsey! No more shall we hide our necks as we age!” Hold the phone, people. Something else to make us feel inadequate has been invented. It’s called Nexsey and it’s a piece of medical grade TAPE used to rein in neck wrinkles.

Last month, I turned 30 (gasp!). It still gives me a little bit of a heart palpitation to type that out, but nonetheless, it happened.

This summer, I’ll be turning 42. Rather than wallowing in misery over a newly-formed wrinkle or questioning life decisions, I’m finding that my 40s have been nothing more than a confidence-filled journey.

I understand that feeling good is far more important than looking good. But it's hard to not get caught up in the frenzy to lose all the baby weight when that's the only thing everyone seems to comment on post-delivery.

REAL TALK — my body is going to keep changing for the rest of my life. If it's not weight gain, it will be aging. If not aging, it could be an illness. If not an illness, it could be any number of things that will cause inevitable change in which I will be required to learn to love the change.