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Erica’s Story: Excited to Be 55
"Being in your 50s is really exciting now because I know who I am. I know, you know, what I want out of life."
For Erica, your 50s are just an exciting time to be alive. It means knowing exactly who you are, and what you want.
Watch the video to hear her story.
Video Transcript:
My name's Erica, I'm 55.
When I was 25, there was a lot of insecurity going on. I worked around the modeling industry, so it was always about perfection, perfection.
I also worked in Japan, and so their idea of beauty was also very distorted because if you were over a certain weight, they wanted you to be 125 pounds. So being nearly 6 feet, for me to be 125 pounds is an impossibility. So that was a lot of insecurity.
Now, I'm in my 50s, I'm like, stuff it. You know, I've been on this planet for 55 years. Now, oh my gosh, it's like a whole different universe.
Being in your 50s is really exciting now because I know who I am. I know, you know, what I want out of life.
I have a beautiful daughter. I'm gonna be a grandma. And it's really good to be able to look back, and see everything that you've learned, and you have that self-confidence that you didn't have.
And definitely having a sense of humor is so incredibly essential. Because everybody makes mistakes, and I think in society there's this whole thing about women, you have to be perfect. It's learning from the mistakes you make in life and realizing not to take life so seriously.
And then I think, well, becoming a mom also changed my life as well. That was a huge change because then I'm responsible for two lives. And I look back and I thought, "Oh my gosh, you know, I have a daughter, I have a son." And especially with my daughter, I was able to say, "Okay, well, I made these mistakes," and I was very honest with her. And with helping her grow, I was also growing.
It was really learning from my mistakes and also not worrying what other people thought, because I would look at other people and think they knew everything. But nobody has the answers.
And really, I would say it's an inside job. It starts from the inside. And that's another thing when I was 25, I would love to have. So, I was always looking to the outside more rather than from the inside.
The positive view of aging, it's really attractive. Wrinkles, they tell a story.
You know, the so-called crow's feet that everybody talks about, that's where we've been laughing all our lives. And I think if you took that away, and then everyone's like this blank...have this blank clear skin, where's the story? Where's the character? It's part of each of us. And I think it's important to… when you start to hide all that, you lose who you are. When people look at you, they can see, you know, your expressions. And I think that's...I think, yeah, wrinkles are our story in life.
When you talk about beauty, what is beauty, really? I mean, there's no...I don't think there's any definition. But I think, just having confidence, gratitude, and just knowing who you are, accepting yourself, it's very simple. Yeah, I think it's very simple together.
I am proud to be 55.
Video Highlights
0:03 Lot of insecurity at age 25
0:15 Never fit Japan’s image of beauty
0:40 50s: A whole different universe
1:30 Embracing that everyone makes mistakes
1:48 Becoming a mom changed her life
2:21 Learning from mistakes you make
2:55 Wrinkles, they tell a story.
3:43 What is beauty, really?
4:06 Proud to be 55