Age Is Just A Number

“You shouldn’t be dancing on tables at your age!“, my grandma said after I’d told her the story.

It was my birthday. I was in a restaurant in Preston that encouraged dancing on tables, once the food had been cleared away. It was a brilliant night. Everyone danced, everyone got a little drunk, and everyone had a good time.

It was my 18th birthday.

Watch the full Age Is Just A Number video towards the bottom of this post! 🙂

Me and my grandma 🙂

That little flashback got me thinking. Who gets to dictate at what age you should, or shouldn’t do something? At what age do you ‘grow up’? Maybe it’s a generational thing. My grandma would never have danced on tables when she was 18. In fact she would never have danced on tables, period.*

Or is it a societal thing? A couple of years ago I went to a fancy dress party as Aladdin. At 33, would society have deemed me too old to do such a thing? To imitate riding an imaginary carpet whilst been fed a shot of Jager?

I have no idea, and nor do I care. After all, age is just a number, right?

COMPLETE THAT BUCKET LIST

If like me, you couldn’t care less about age, then read on fellow-age-stereotype smasher.

You’ve got one life. So live it. A great motto to live by. That motto becomes even more important if you have a bucket list. Because a bucket list doesn’t have a specific time completion date. Not really. Once you make a bucket list, it’s there to be completed until the day you die.

That means no matter what is on the bucket list, you can do it at any age.

Society, older generations, mood hoovers, naysayers…they can all GTF.

Skydiving was on my bucket list. I did it aged 31. I threw myself out of a perfectly good plane over the incredible town of Queenstown in New Zealand. Nzone – the people who helped me do my skydive – regularly help people of all ages do the same – every week they showcase their jumpers, and they range from age 7 to 77. The oldest person to ever do a skydive is 101 years old. 101 YEARS OLD.

YOU’VE NEVER TOO OLD

Whatever stereotypes exist about age and social class, smash them to pieces. You’re only as old as you feel.

You’re not too old to learn a new skill.
You’re not too old to do something new.
You’re not too old to dance on tables.

Life is short. Enjoy every minute.

*Sorry grandma!

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Disclaimer: This post and video was created in collaboration with Essilor, who are running the #ageisjustanumber campaign. Find out more at Ageisjustanumber.com.