The older the better... :-)

Its funny to think back to when you were in your early teenage years how you had a vision of yourself being married, settling down with bouncing & bubble kids, living in your own house and having a dream job by the time you hit you mid-late twenties.....
But hitting it is a completely different story. I'm sure I still have a regular fifteen year old that takes ownership of my body and giggles like a school girl about silly things, or is happy not taking on board 'the serious life', in the knowledge that it is just so much more fun to go through life with a big grin and sense of humour at every situation thrown at you.

What I do think though is that responsibility and age tend to inescapably go hand in hand. I think I actually enjoy getting older!

Here are some reasons why:
- You know so much more! Through experiences we gain knowledge, which is far different to that we read in a text book or we learn from school. If I knew the things I did back when I was eighteen, I would be one wise woman 'kicking some serious butt' in the world of youth!

- You know what you want out of life. The amount of different pathways and ideas I have tried to walk down and follow has most definitely given me the knowledge of knowing exactly what I want to do with my life, and where I want to be by the end of it. Through trial and error, we become more equipped, just as an infant learns their skills from environmental and social feedback, to know the things we hope to achieve, the things we dream about doing and the things that get us up each day to try and get us there!

- You realise that there is much more to life than being 'the popular kid', being drop dead gorgeous, earning the most money, owning the best possessions and being 'famous'. You realise that without happiness, love and health - life's most simple, but supremely satisfying pleasures, you don't have a lot. If you manage to get all of the popularity, looks, money and social status 'boxes checked', none of it means anything if you are not satisfied and happy with life. If you wake up depressed an anxious each day from long work hours, a lack of time to enjoy life at a leisurely pace - or god forbid - having no time to have coffee and wine dates with the girls - is it all really worth it!?

- You gain self confidence and are better able to accept you for who you are. It doesn't matter what life throws you, with life, age and experience, you know that this is one, sometimes horrific event, but there is always tomorrow, and this is just working to make me a stronger person. At one stage - I would of used to lock myself in my bedroom, sobbing endless tears into my pillow at the news of a friend disagreeing with something I said, or not quite getting the promotion I was hoping for....even having a boy (and yes, it still isn't a nice feeling!!) kiss another girl when you really wanted to be his New Years 'pash'!! But now I know that everything DOES happen for a reason, and every decision we make or event we go through is only a small part of the life we still have to live.

- We start to get some awesome curves, and somehow seem to manage developing better muscles than when we were younger!! Finally - some shape and voluptuousness to our girly figures!! Yes it feels like we have to work a little harder as we get older to get the desired effects of fitness, but once we get there, I'm certain it looks so much sexier than in our younger years!!!

- We appreciate what's really important in life. As we get older, we take the time to smell the roses, we cherish those friends that have been there for us through great times and bad, and we know when we find a partner who is worth being with for a very long time - appreciating conversation and sharing experiences together!....Did I mention we know where to find a delicious wine or gourmet antipasto plate??!! :-P

These points are only the starting point to a million different things that happen naturally, with age. So next time you wake up freaking out about wrinkles or your first grey hair, just think about the awesome things you have done, and are still to do in your life - and how much better they will be now that you are mature enough to take every breathe of it in!
Life is still vibrant and exciting in my books!!

Xxx