DEAR Jasminda,
WHAT is an appropriate response when people ask your age? I don’t see why it’s anyone’s business.
Amanda G.
DEAR Amanda,
I’M guessing (and I could be wrong) that you have reached an age that no longer represents how you feel.
Or maybe it reflects exactly how you feel and you don’t want to be reminded of it.
Asking someone their age is not appropriate (unless it’s a legal or medical requirement – it’s best not to lie about your age to your lawyer or your surgeon) but it is a common question for a range of reasons.
As a society we are constantly bombarded with messaging that suggests ageing is the worst thing that can happen to a person.
The quest for eternal youth is fascinating, but ultimately doomed.
It is hard not to be a bit cynical about the reasons youth is promoted as the ultimate goal.
It certainly makes beauty product manufacturers and plastic surgeons a lot of money.
Thankfully, we have some incredible role models such as Rachel Ward, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson.
These women, among many others, are happy to age gracefully and offer an alternative narrative to agelessness (which is, of course, impossible).
You are right, though, Amanda. Your age isn’t anyone’s business.
If someone asks my age, I usually offer some sort of vague, deflective response.
Something like, ‘you’re only as old as you feel’ or ‘a day older than yesterday and a day younger than tomorrow’. Really, though, why should we dodge the question when someone asks our age?
Getting older is far better than the alternative.
Carpe diem, Jasminda.
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