To Age or Not to Age?

Immortality. Who wants that? And yet that’s exactly what all the demons of mythology asked for when granted a wish by the gods. Funnily though, the gods never granted them the wish. But whyever not? Why not let them grow older and older, weaker and weaker, but never let them die? Then the gods could have turned around and mocked them:

“Be careful what you wish for…it might come true.”

The opening lines of Bryan Adams’ hit song, 18 Till I Die, say what most people really want:

“Wanna be young - the rest of my life.”

Who wouldn’t that, right? To be young until they die?

Monica Lewinsky, for one, wouldn’t (In case you’re wondering, she was the White House intern who nearly took down Bill Clinton’s presidency). In her TED talk on public shaming, she talked about this time when, as a 41 year old, she was hit upon by a 27 year old guy:

“He was charming and I was flattered, and I declined. You know what his unsuccessful pickup line was? He could make me feel 22 again. I realized later that night, I'm probably the only person over 40 who does not want to be 22 again.”

Sad. Very sad.

But other than people who had traumatic experiences, is there anyone else who’d not give an arm and a leg to be young (again)? Well, sometimes when you see or hear about the crazy things young people do, it does make you wonder. Like the time when Haley Mlotek wrote about the fascination of the young with social media:

“We — and I mean ‘we’ in the most sweeping generalization of ways, you and me and every millennial we know — like to pretend that social media doesn’t matter, even as we lurk among the tweets and Instagrams of our former lovers and hate-fave the Instagrams and tweets of friends we don’t talk to anymore, or deliberately plant sexually provocative tweets and devastatingly hot selfies as a trap for the people who are, we hope, creeping on us.”

To which Alex Balk responded:

“Oh my God I’m so glad I’m not young.”

Maybe ageing’s ok after all…or maybe I am just getting old.