When you accidentally unpack one of your views that you didn't know was shaped by your past.
I hate the anti-aging industry. It's predatory and sexist and a bunch of other things. Wrinkles and dark spots and scars and gray hair are signs of life, they are natural, nothing to fear, and I think it is beautiful and an act of rebellion to actively reject that standard.
I realized one of the reasons I feel this way is because until my late teens (18/19) I truly thought I was going to die before I turned 21. When I was 11, I thought I was going to kill myself before 16. When I was 16, I thought I'd die before 18. At 18, I realized, maybe I could survive. Despite the fear around covid, I actively chose to try to survive.
Every scar, every wrinkle, every gray hair is a reminder that I survived. It's an act of rebellion against the system that wanted me to die. It's empowerment.
