30 is not the new 50

ERIKA THOMAS
THE SIGNAL

Everyone knows the basics: eat healthy, exercise and take your vitamins. Growing older is unavoidable. Our bodies will experience changes that we have no control over: wrinkles that don’t go away after a smile, legs that don’t move as fast as they once did, pickle jars that just don’t open as easy. As I close out my last year in my twenties, I am starting to see the effects of my age ever so slightly.

Many of us here at UHCL are full-time students, commuters, we hold down full-time jobs; we have families and are involved in our children’s extracurricular activities. We are not the typical college student and attending college while maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be challenging.

What I have learned to realize is that the most important aspect to staying young and healthy is to open ourselves to possibilities. Everyday contains countless opportunities that allow you to experience new people and new risks. Although physically growing older is inevitable, remember that growing wiser is something that can only happen from understanding ourselves and the people around us.

I still take the advice of my mother. I take my vitamins. I try and eat healthy, I park at the end of lot B to get those extra steps in, and I put on my nightly wrinkle cream before bed. As I welcome growing older, I have come to realize my perspective on life is to remain kind, curious and grateful for what I do have in my own life. While society might tell us that being thin and pretty means being happy and healthy, aging has also made me realize that beauty is only skin deep. So to remain internally healthy, I have made the conscious effort to see the positive in everyday situations. I have even posted sticky notes on the bathroom mirror with encouraging words and phrases to help with my internal health.

Even though it can be hard to accept the fact that aging is a part of our life’s journey, I am realizing that living a healthier lifestyle has become ever more important, both inside and out.

Comment below to share personal advice on how to stay healthy and happy.