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Stephanie Cantos's avatar

yes yes yes to all of this. as someone who was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 37 i am very aware of the fact that i will not get the chance to age. i’m now living in dog years and i don’t have time to worry about a grey hair or a wrinkle. i wish more people would see the beauty in aging

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Aniqah's avatar

thanks for your words stephanie. i'm really sorry to hear that but situations like yours put the fragility of life into perspective. wishing you the most precious years ahead. much love!

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Renee Hill's avatar

Not everyone is lucky enough to age. When I was diagnosed with stage IV cancer at 31, I didn’t think I’d live to 32. Amazingly I just celebrated turning 40 and I’m so happy to be getting older. The only thing I’m not letting happen naturally is my hair. Not ready for grey but that’s a choice. I really appreciate what you’ve written.

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Aniqah's avatar

ah renee, thank you :) i'm sorry to hear about your struggle but so thrilled to hear you just celebrated your 40th! happy belated birthday from me. sounds like you're making every year count and here's to many more. <3

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Tami Boursiquot's avatar

Very well written! I do think the bigger picture is simply celebrating eachother, whatever our journeys may be. If you feel your most beautiful aging naturally I want to celebrate your beauty & confidence just as much as I want to celebrate my girlfriend that feels most comfortable with a little help. I wish we didn't make eachother the barometer for what's right, wrong or beautiful but instead love ourselves soo much we aren't impacted by eachothers choices. That said I do celebrate your voice & putting it out here for us to share our perspective!

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Aniqah's avatar

thanks for your lovely words tami :) totally with you! nothing against appearance medicine or those who choose it. just conscious that sometimes we chase standards that others set for us, without our best interests in mind. that said, here's to whatever makes every year around the sun as beautiful as possible, for those of us lucky enough to live it. <3

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Tami Boursiquot's avatar

Absolutely!!! Cheers to the fact that we are here today! That's the key right? Most of us are comparing up or comparing down instead of just looking straight ahead! The older I get the more I see women & how even with all the progress made we are still fighting unseen battles created by a society set up by men every damn day!!! How can we truly know & embrace who we are when we've been sold soo much misdirection based on things other than our own personal values & goals?

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shit you should care about's avatar

omg i love this thoughtful comment

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Kitty's avatar

nooo why am i crying at my desk. “A symbol of your growth in life on Earth, and how cool is that?”

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Aniqah's avatar

appreciate you :)

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Sweetvee's avatar

if she weren't so evil, i'd feel bad for how she can't appreciate aging and feels the need to throw herself full body into the vicious beauty competition of this generation.. when she doesn't even need to anymore.

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b.'s avatar

I love it. I'm mid-30s, and since I turned 30, I feel better each year. Calmer, more experienced, my heart and brain feel solid, and I feel entitled to this life. I wouldn't prefer my 20s self to my today's woman; I just love being called Mrs. (it's "senhora" in Portuguese) instead of Miss or young lady. I don't care about my new white hairs. My body is stronger and my soul is peaceful, and I feel happy as I have never felt when I was a girl. I love being a woman walking into my wise era.

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Rosa-Lee O’Reilly's avatar

This was such a fantastic read! Thankyou so much for writing this — agree with every single word 🤍

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Aniqah's avatar

aw thanks rosa :) <3

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—ellie's avatar

im glad i get to age as much as i can. Im only 22 but i have more silver streaks in my hair than anything, so im actually just going silver !

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