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Writer's pictureYuriko Ono

Japaralia June 2024 vol. 9 What "ageing" means to me


English Translation below (Google translate used)


For some reason, after I went to bed last night, I started thinking about "ageing''. Previously, I talked about my opinion on the meaning of beauty, so this time I would like to share my thoughts on "aging."


When you were little, didn't you look at adults and think they were very mature? When I was in the lower grades of elementary school, I looked at 6th graders and thought, `"adults!'' and when I saw high school baseball players, they looked so big that I felt like they were adults (or rather old men). I think that the Japanese people of the Showa era, who were especially respectful of their superiors, had a strong image of "this is how the XX generation should be." For example, it was a time when miniskirts were only allowed until you were a teenager, women should get married and have children by the age of 25, and women who hadn't left the workforce by the age of 30 were labeled as "one that missed their time".


I used to think of my parents as gods.

However, when I actually got older, I thought, ``Huh? It's completely different from what I imagined.'' I'm still me, and I don't feel or think like an adult like I thought I would. Didn't you think so? Then, when I was in high school, I realized that my parents were people just like me. After that, my view of my parents, who had always been an absolute presence, changed, and I started thinking that my parents weren't always right, so I should think about it and make my own decisions. Maybe this was the time I started to be more rebellious.


Today, I am currently 47 years old. Although I have experienced many things and learned more, I don't feel that my heart has changed that much compared to when I was younger. I feel the same way now that I felt then. The stuffed panda that I slept with every day when I was little, the apricot candy at summer festivals, the fact that I love fluffy animals, the fact that I'm clumsy, and the fact that I'm always nervous when meeting people for the first time. Now I'm an adult but it didn't make any difference. In other words, the 70 or 80-year-olds I imagine today may be different from what I imagine, and my heart may still be the same as I am now. Just because I'm older doesn't mean I don't think like a hermit. There is a Japanese saying "A soul of a three-year-old stays even if the one reaches one hundred-year-old.'


Then I thought. ``Old age'' refers to aging of the body; the mind only grows and does not grow old. People say, ``I'm already XX years old,'' but even though you may age physically, there is no need to age mentally. I don't know if this can be considered proof, but I don't have any desire to go back to when I was in my teens or 20s although I do want to get back the skin I had back then. This means because I'm not old at heart, I don't want to go back. I believe that beauty treatment is a fleeting hope (dream) for humans to match their aging bodies with their never-aging hearts.


This may overlap with what I said a while ago, but you don't have to think about how you should be just because you're a certain age. If you are kind to others and live your life with ambition, you can just be who you are. Having said that, of course I also have a dream of looking youthful forever, so I would like to learn more and keep my youthful appearance.


I was 20 years old at that time but these below are my favourite lines from a song of Namie Amuro - Sweet 19 Blues.

Soon you won't have to act like an adult

Children's weapons can still be used

The best time of life



I was convinced that it was true, but even though my body aged, my mind has not aged since then. As expected, I can't use child's weapons anymore, but at heart I'm still 19 years old and every age I've ever been. Don't let yourself grow old by thinking, "I'm already XX years old." You can't stop your body from aging, but there's no need to limit your mind to that image. Aging and beauty flow out from within.


My mother often tells me, ``You're just so logical,'' but I've always been a thinker.


Finally, be mindful about the dry cold weather in June. Instead of using the same skin care you used in the summer, try switching to a skin care routine that suits your winter skin.

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