Just hit 50 years old and I'm actually happier than I was at 25

Everyone always talks about how aging is terrible, but I hit 50 last week and it honestly caught me off guard how good I feel. People keep saying your best years are in your 20s and 30s, but I think that's just something we tell ourselves. At 25 I was stressed about student loans, trying to figure out my career, and constantly comparing myself to friends on social media. Now I've got a solid job, I know who I am, and I don't waste energy on things that don't matter. My dental hygienist career started to really click after I stopped worrying about being perfect. I had a patient last week who said I looked younger now than I did 10 years ago, and I think it's because I actually laugh more. Has anyone else found that life got better after a certain milestone age?

3 comments

3 Comments

john_cooper2mo ago

Wait you went to the grocery store in stained pajama pants? @paige86 that is honestly incredible and I love it. I still get a little self conscious if I go out looking too rough but you are living the dream. Your post hit me right in the feels because turning 50 really does reset your priorities. I used to obsess over every little thing at 25, like if my haircut was good enough or if people liked me. Now I just show up and do my job and spend time with people who actually matter. It is like a switch flips in your brain and suddenly you realize you wasted so many years being worried about nothing.

paige862mo ago

fr fr though lol. 25 was honestly such a mess for me too, I was out here trying to impress people I didnt even like and stressing over my hairline starting to go. Now at 47 I just dont care anymore, I wear what I want and if someone doesnt like it they can move along. Like last week I went to the grocery store in my pajama pants and a hoodie with a stain on it and I didnt even think twice about it. Freedom is real once you hit that point where you stop giving a damn about what other people think.

emmaallen2mo ago

My 47 year old self still gets nervous about going out looking rough, but mostly because I might run into my ex husband and I refuse to give him that satisfaction. I did go to Target last month in my gardening clothes with dirt on my face and a ripped flannel though, and nobody even looked at me twice. The funny thing is when I was 25 I wouldnt have been caught dead in public without my hair done and makeup perfect, now I leave the house looking like a scarecrow and feel zero shame about it. I think the real freedom comes when you realize most people are too busy worrying about their own hairline to care about your stained hoodie. Honestly I still have moments where I catch myself caring too much about something stupid, but then I remember that one time I cried over a bad haircut at 26 and it helps snap me back to reality.