Written on July 11, 2024
I’ve been thinking about age lately. Haven’t we all? I turned fifty-nine a few weeks ago, an age that would have squarely landed me in the “old” category a few decades ago. When I look at photos of my grandmothers at fifty-nine, they look like, well, grandmothers. Gran and Granny always seemed old (maybe the names didn’t help). Even photos of my mother at my age startle me—something about a pantsuit and a pre-1990 beauty shop hairdo ages a woman by about ten years.
It was a rough birthday. Numbers don’t usually bother me, and I heartily agree with the oft-used cliche, “You’re as old as you feel.” My newsfeed algorithm knows my birth date and everything else about me, so lately, it’s been spooning me stories like the ninety-year-old woman who can hold a handstand for two minutes or the ninety-two-old who completed the Grand Canyon’s twenty-four-mile rim-to-rim hike in two days. But my feed balances these inspiring tales with ads for reading glasses and eye cream, so maybe these products are the key to senior physical feats—or maybe Google is uncertain which camp I fall into: old as you feel or feeling old. It depends on the day, so I’ll take both in my feed, thank you.
Now that we’ve all watched that horrifying presidential debate—or a couple of clips if you are a wimp like me—age is all we can talk about. Is he too old? Old, but still capable? Not old enough to sideline? I don’t know, and I’m not spending my precious fifty-nine-year-old mental energy sorting through it. I’ll let those who are still fence-riding continue that conversation.
Here’s what I do know: ageism is real in our culture, and the messages that accompany it can wreak havoc on a creative goal, like writing a book. I recently read an article (curated in my feed, of course) about modern-day novelists who started late. I took issue with the wording because who decides how old is late? I get it. The writer of the article was trying to encourage and motivate, but it came off as a wide-eyed surprise, especially when it came to the oldest debut novelist, who was sixty-one. The messages out there about age are mixed. Highlighting “oldsters” for their age-busting feats makes sense, and yet every time I read one of those articles, it whispers: “Isn’t it amazing they are still able to do things!” I’d rather us not be amazed at people who start novels, businesses, new careers, or new lives “late in life.” I want to read those inspiring stories; I just don’t want society to be so shocked by them.
I’m not blaming all of this on the media or society. Those of us who are inching upward in age can be our own worst enemy, especially when it comes to creative projects. If we struggle to keep up with technology or comprehend AI and feel confused by TikTok, we tell ourselves the culprit must be our age. I’m increasingly concerned about people who believe their age determines whether they are allowed to begin or continue a creative life. It’s good to know when you’re too old for something. But it’s also good to know when you’re still young enough for something. And if you have a creative desire, you are young enough to fulfill it.
The world is filled with people in their seventies, eighties, and beyond who are writing books, making art, and starting businesses and nonprofits. Let’s not be so surprised by it. And if you feel like age is keeping you from a creative project, maybe it’s not a good idea to listen to the voices around you. Do it your own way, with the tools that work best for you, and at your own pace. If you want to follow trends, do it. If trends give you a headache, ignore them.
Taking control of your creative project means you get to decide how it’s done. I’ve chosen to write books as an indie author, which means there are no gatekeepers to determine whether my writing is following market trends or fitting into the latest publishing bent. I want to make quality art at whatever age I am because (one more cliche here) it’s a journey, not a destination. In my forties, I had a piece of wall art with this quote, but I only purchased it because it matched my color scheme. Maybe you have to arrive at a certain age to grasp its truth.
If you’ve shelved a project because it seems too daunting, and you fear you’ve passed the age when it makes sense, go back and dig it out. Who else is going to write that book or poem? Who else is going to create that piece of art or start that project? It belongs to you, whatever age you are. No one said it would be easy, but in the words of Alfredo Aliaga, the ninety-two-year-old Grand Canyon hiker, “It’s only one step after another.”
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