0
SPEAKER_00
When you re young, birthdays are exciting.
0
SPEAKER_00
Every year that goes by gets you closer to cool shit.
0
SPEAKER_00
For example, oh, I m one year closer to getting my driver s license when I turn 16.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, I m one year closer to being able to buy alcohol and go to the bar, et cetera, et cetera.
0
SPEAKER_00
When you re young, birthdays are exciting.
0
SPEAKER_00
Getting older is exciting because it means that you re unlocking new adult activities.
0
SPEAKER_00
You re unlocking new mature responsibilities.
0
SPEAKER_00
And there s something really exciting about that.
0
SPEAKER_00
This year I turned 23.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I realized that s sort of over for me.
0
SPEAKER_00
Birthdays moving forward are not really going to be unlocking exciting things anymore.
0
SPEAKER_00
Birthdays for me, for the remainder of my life, are just going to be a marker of me being a year older.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now, for some people, that s exciting.
0
SPEAKER_00
Birthdays are still exciting because it s a symbol of surviving another year on this planet, which is an accomplishment.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that s beautiful.
0
SPEAKER_00
Some people see it as a sign that their youth is escaping them and that life is only getting worse from here.
0
SPEAKER_00
Depending on who you are, birthdays, after a certain point, can become even more exciting or even more daunting.
0
SPEAKER_00
Just depends on who you are.
0
SPEAKER_00
Personally, I m pretty neutral.
0
SPEAKER_00
I am not particularly afraid of getting older, which is shocking because I m usually afraid of everything.
0
SPEAKER_00
I haven t always been that way, but over the last few years, I ve developed a sensitivity to reality.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don t know, I was never afraid of dying as a kid.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh, that s not true.
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, it is.
0
SPEAKER_00
I wasn t afraid of myself dying.
0
SPEAKER_00
I was afraid of everyone else dying, like people around me dying, but I wasn t afraid of me dying.
0
SPEAKER_00
Growing up, I was not concerned about me, about my well-being.
0
SPEAKER_00
I was very anxious about other people, my parents especially, and their well-being, but I was never concerned about my own.
0
SPEAKER_00
And as I ve grown older, my concern for my loved ones has remained, but I have also developed a concern about myself that is very...
0
SPEAKER_00
at times distracting.
0
SPEAKER_00
So you would think, okay, as Emma grows, she s becoming more protective of herself, more concerned about her health and well-being.
0
SPEAKER_00
She s probably afraid of aging, because what is aging?
0
SPEAKER_00
Getting closer to death.
0
SPEAKER_00
But shockingly, I m not.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m not disturbed by it, which is a relief.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s a breath of fresh air for me.
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, I love to hear that come out of my mouth, that I m not afraid of something.
0
SPEAKER_00
But I will say that it feels like societally we are afraid of aging.
0
SPEAKER_00
Growing up, I saw endless anti-aging commercials, anti-aging facial moisturizer, anti-aging supplements,
0
SPEAKER_00
makeup that makes wrinkled skin look smoother, hair dye that covers gray hair the best, you know?
0
SPEAKER_00
Like, we ve all grown up watching our elders try to cover up their aging.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I think it sort of makes sense, you know, why we re societally afraid of aging.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think for the most part, it comes down to vanity, which is funny because I would argue the scariest thing about aging is the fact that your body, in a way, is decaying.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s terrifying.
0
SPEAKER_00
But again, societally, it seems that we re most concerned about what it looks like on the outside, what aging looks like aesthetically.
0
SPEAKER_00
right?
0
SPEAKER_00
That seems to be the loudest topic when it comes to getting older.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s about what you look like, not how you feel or what s really happening inside of your body.
0
SPEAKER_00
Do you know what I m saying?
0
SPEAKER_00
And maybe this is just the media that I ve been consuming over the course of my life, but I would say it s a pretty loud conversation and it s a pretty big concern.
0
SPEAKER_00
I did some research like surface level skimming research about
0
SPEAKER_00
why we re afraid to look older.
0
SPEAKER_00
And it seems like it s because youth is strongly associated with health and fertility.
0
SPEAKER_00
Since younger people are expected to have more time to reproduce, these evolutionary accounts offer one reason why many regard young people as more attractive than older people.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s not just a societal beauty standard.
0
SPEAKER_00
Younger is more beautiful.
0
SPEAKER_00
In a way, it s sort of biological.
0
SPEAKER_00
The animal in us wants to reproduce.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so naturally, we re going to be more attracted to what looks the most fertile.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s somewhat reassuring when it comes to
0
SPEAKER_00
why we feel this way and why this is such a prominent topic and concern.
0
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I think that there are other reasons why people are afraid of aging.
0
SPEAKER_00
There s a lot of pressure being an adult.
0
SPEAKER_00
I feel like the older you get, the more pressure there is to have achieved something
0
SPEAKER_00
to have accomplished certain things, to have everything figured out.
0
SPEAKER_00
Every year that goes by, the pressure builds.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I would say societally, there s an expectation.
0
SPEAKER_00
Again, understandably so, because the older you get, the wiser you get.
0
SPEAKER_00
And yeah, you re just sort of expected to have shit figured out.
0
SPEAKER_00
Whereas when you re younger, you can fuck up left and right.
0
SPEAKER_00
As long as you get back on the horse,
0
SPEAKER_00
Everyone s going to be on your team for the most part because you re young and it s expected that you make mistakes and it s expected that you don t have it all figured out yet.
0
SPEAKER_00
And it s expected that you haven t accomplished all that you re going to accomplish in your life.
0
SPEAKER_00
But the older you get, the more that that goes away, that leniency, I guess, about what you re up to, you know?
0
SPEAKER_00
I think people fear that.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think a lot of people also fear that becoming an adult means not having fun anymore.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I know many adults that completely disagree with that.
0
SPEAKER_00
But that is a fear that I ve heard many people discuss.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh no, you know, when I get older then I m gonna have a family and I m excited about that, but also won t be able to travel as much.
0
SPEAKER_00
I won t be able to go out with my friends as much.
0
SPEAKER_00
All of these things that I consider to be fun are not gonna be a priority for me anymore.
0
SPEAKER_00
They can t be.
0
SPEAKER_00
Or, oh, I m getting older and I might not be able to play my favorite sport anymore.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don t know if my body will allow me to at a certain point.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, you get the idea.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think there s a fear that the fun ends at a certain point or the fun slowly dissipates over time.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don t think that s necessarily true, but I think that that s another reason why people fear aging.
0
SPEAKER_00
And then last but not least, there are obviously people who fear aging for what it truly is on a cellular level, which is
0
SPEAKER_00
dying and not being alive anymore.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s fucking frightening.
0
SPEAKER_00
I don t need to get into that.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think we all are aware enough about how frightening that is.
0
SPEAKER_00
With all that being said, I do think it s interesting that the hottest topic is the fear of physically aging, looking older.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I ve been thinking about this a lot recently because even though I m still young and I m not necessarily showing signs of physical aging much yet, I have some wrinkles on my forehead and around my mouth, sure.
0
SPEAKER_00
But leave me the fuck alone, okay?
0
SPEAKER_00
There are a lot of people my age in their early 20s getting work done, getting Botox, getting filler, drinking out of special straws so that they don t get wrinkles around their mouth.
0
SPEAKER_00
The list goes on.
0
SPEAKER_00
But it s starting now.
0
SPEAKER_00
And so I ve been thinking about it a lot.
0
SPEAKER_00
How do I plan on physically aging?
0
SPEAKER_00
I m not stoked about dying.
0
SPEAKER_00
However, it s so inevitable that I ve come to terms with that.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m frightened about my body decaying and not feeling, you know, good anymore, but I ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m sure that I ll have fun for the rest of my life.
0
SPEAKER_00
I think that that s a choice and I m going to do my best to choose to have fun for the rest of my life.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m not really concerned about that.
0
SPEAKER_00
The area that I m the most confused is the vanity element, the external piece of it all.
0
SPEAKER_00
What am I going to do?
0
SPEAKER_00
I feel like there are sort of two roads that you can go when it comes to physically
0
SPEAKER_00
aging.
0
SPEAKER_00
You can go the all-natural route, which means you accept it as it comes.
0
SPEAKER_00
You can take care of yourself physically, exercise, eat well, sleep good, manage your stress, you know, take care of your physical body.
0
SPEAKER_00
You can go out of your way to do
1
SPEAKER_00
that, I would say, and still fall under this sort of natural aging category.
1
SPEAKER_00
But you re not going and dyeing your hair to cover the gray.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re not getting Botox.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re not getting filler.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re not getting a facelift.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re not getting liposuction.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re not getting skin-tightening treatments.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re not using anti-aging facial products.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re just kind of letting it happen.
1
SPEAKER_00
So there s one way that you can go.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then the other way you can go is you can utilize the procedures and tactics that we have today to look as young as you possibly can.
1
SPEAKER_00
You can dye your hair.
1
SPEAKER_00
You can use anti wrinkle products.
1
SPEAKER_00
You can get Botox, you can get filler, you can get a facelift.
1
SPEAKER_00
There s all these different lasers and tools and things that you can use on your body to make yourself look younger.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you can go that direction too.
1
SPEAKER_00
Now, I m not going to lie.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m really conflicted because there are things that I enjoy about both paths.
1
SPEAKER_00
I would say that there s pros and cons to both.
1
SPEAKER_00
Let s start with the all-natural route.
1
SPEAKER_00
I think that there s something really empowering about accepting the inevitable, about owning the inevitable.
1
SPEAKER_00
and about sort of living your fullest truth in a way.
1
SPEAKER_00
Your fullest truth is that you have gray hair, and that you have wrinkles, and that your skin sags in some areas, and that you have discoloration on your legs from where there s sunspots.
1
SPEAKER_00
There is something really beautiful about that and about making the most of it, you know, saying, I m going to take the best care of my body as I can so that I can look and feel great in my natural form.
1
SPEAKER_00
Right.
1
SPEAKER_00
There s something.
1
SPEAKER_00
beautiful about that because you re truly accepting who you are at your age and the beauty that that is.
1
SPEAKER_00
But also, you re free.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re free in a way.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like, it s so stressful to chase this idea of looking as young as possible for as long as possible.
1
SPEAKER_00
And it s sort of an unattainable goal too because
1
SPEAKER_00
In your imagination, if you re on the journey of using anti-aging methods to look as young as possible, there s no exact endpoint for that, which is very stressful.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like you might go and get a procedure done.
1
SPEAKER_00
You might go and get a facelift.
1
SPEAKER_00
But now you re like, ah, but my arm, like the skin on my arms is sort of a bit wrinkly.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s a bit saggy maybe.
1
SPEAKER_00
Well, maybe I need to get that done too.
1
SPEAKER_00
It becomes this hamster wheel of procedures and you never feel like you arrive at a point where you re like, I feel satisfied with what I look like.
1
SPEAKER_00
Maybe some people feel that way.
1
SPEAKER_00
I think that that can be great.
1
SPEAKER_00
And we ll discuss that when we discuss the benefits of going the non-natural route.
1
SPEAKER_00
But there s this risk of getting addicted to looking younger and younger and younger and changing this, this and that about yourself.
1
SPEAKER_00
Whereas if you re choosing to do none of it and just take good care of yourself, there s something so freeing about that.
1
SPEAKER_00
You re not at the mercy of your procedures.
1
SPEAKER_00
you re just accepting what nature chooses to do to your body as time passes.
1
SPEAKER_00
And it s out of your control, which is kind of a relief.
1
SPEAKER_00
You can t control what gets a wrinkle next, but there s something sort of beautiful about just accepting that and letting it happen.
1
SPEAKER_00
Whereas when you go the unnatural route, it is in your control because it s up to you.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you get filler in your cheekbones, it s up to you.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you get filler in your under eyes,
1
SPEAKER_00
It s up to you if you book the facelift.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s up to you if you get a laser treatment on your skin.
1
SPEAKER_00
Do you see what I m saying?
1
SPEAKER_00
There s something beautiful about letting go and letting nature just do it.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I think that s amazing.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I hate to be cynical, but I also understand not loving every single nook and cranny of
1
SPEAKER_00
your body.
1
SPEAKER_00
Now, in an ideal world, we all accept our bodies for exactly what they are.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s a lot to ask of us in a way, especially because we live in such a vain time societally.
1
SPEAKER_00
It is sort of a lot to ask that we don t ever feel insecure about anything, that we accept every single nook and cranny of our bodies.
1
SPEAKER_00
That would be phenomenal if we could all do that.
1
SPEAKER_00
But I think it s, in some ways,
1
SPEAKER_00
an unfair ask.
1
SPEAKER_00
And there are all of these treatments available to enhance the way that we look to get rid of our insecurities and to be someone who decides, you know what, I m just going to age naturally.
1
SPEAKER_00
But then to feel pigeonholed by that, like, fuck, but I kind of do wish I could.
1
SPEAKER_00
get Botox in this one area or I wish I could go and get filler in this one area.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like, oh, you know, I would love to get a laser treatment to help smooth my skin in this area.
1
SPEAKER_00
This is an insecurity.
1
SPEAKER_00
And for a chunk of money, I could make that insecurity go away.
1
SPEAKER_00
I kind of wish I could go do it.
1
SPEAKER_00
I kind of want to go do it.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like, is it fair to yourself
1
SPEAKER_00
to say, you know what, I m going to reject the societal pressure to look as young as possible.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I m just going to let myself age naturally.
1
SPEAKER_00
And this is the hill that I m going to die on.
1
SPEAKER_00
Is it fair to yourself to do that when there are all of these things available that maybe could alleviate some of your insecurities?
1
SPEAKER_00
Listen, I love the idea of a world where none of us have any insecurities.
1
SPEAKER_00
None of us want to go and get these cosmetic procedures.
1
SPEAKER_00
On the other hand, when it comes to going the unnatural route, you know, participating in these anti-aging cosmetic procedures, they re there.
1
SPEAKER_00
They re available.
1
SPEAKER_00
And if you can manage to have a healthy relationship with these procedures, and what I mean by healthy is something that s non addictive.
1
SPEAKER_00
You know, if you are at a place where you re like, I accept myself for who I am, I love myself as much as I possibly can.
1
SPEAKER_00
But also there are things about aging that I don t like.
1
SPEAKER_00
I don t like the way that my wrinkles look.
1
SPEAKER_00
I don t like how my hair looks when it s gray.
1
SPEAKER_00
You know, I might as well get a facelift.
1
SPEAKER_00
Why not?
1
SPEAKER_00
If you can manage to have a healthy relationship with these procedures in a way that s rational and...
1
SPEAKER_00
Is that even possible?
1
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
1
SPEAKER_00
I don t know because I ve never gotten any cosmetic procedures done.
1
SPEAKER_00
I ve never even done my lips.
1
SPEAKER_00
I ve done nothing, okay?
1
SPEAKER_00
Absolutely nothing.
1
SPEAKER_00
No Botox, no filler.
1
SPEAKER_00
The most that I ve ever done is get like one of those electromagnetic facials that, I don t know, kind of like snatches your face.
1
SPEAKER_00
I hate the word snatch.
1
SPEAKER_00
Snatches your face, you know?
1
SPEAKER_00
That s the most I ve ever done.
1
SPEAKER_00
But I ve never done anything else.
1
SPEAKER_00
And because I have an experience that I can t say for sure if there s a way to have a healthy relationship with changing your physical body.
1
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
1
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
1
SPEAKER_00
At the end of the day, I m analyzing this for me because I don t give a fuck what anyone else does.
1
SPEAKER_00
It is none of my business.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that s the end of that.
1
SPEAKER_00
So my reason for asking the question, like, is it possible for people to have a healthy relationship with cosmetic procedures is because that s just data for myself.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like, OK, if 70 percent of people can t form a healthy relationship with getting cosmetic procedures, well, then my likelihood is maybe not great.
1
SPEAKER_00
All of this to say, I think there is something kind of cool about the fact that this shit is available, you know.
1
SPEAKER_00
And there s also something to be said for the fact that we only live once.
1
SPEAKER_00
Do we need to go and be the hero who rejects all beauty standards and goes the all natural route?
1
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
1
SPEAKER_00
Does that even make you a hero?
1
SPEAKER_00
That s a huge question.
1
SPEAKER_00
Does it even make you a hero?
1
SPEAKER_00
It s so perplexing.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like what is the way to go?
1
SPEAKER_00
Because I also think that if there s something out there that s going to make you feel better about yourself,
1
SPEAKER_00
Even if in theory we should accept ourselves for exactly who we are, that s unrealistic to ask of ourselves all the time, right?
1
SPEAKER_00
If there s something out there that could make us feel better about ourselves, it s right there and we could do it and we re doing it responsibly.
1
SPEAKER_00
Is there a reason to not do it?
1
SPEAKER_00
I would say the only reason not to do it is because it s promoting and adding to
1
SPEAKER_00
the new body standard, the new beauty standard.
1
SPEAKER_00
The new beauty standard is not natural.
1
SPEAKER_00
The new beauty standard is having different enhancements for the most part.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you look at the people who are setting the beauty standard for the most part, all of them have some sort of cosmetic procedure done to them.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that is sort of disturbing.
1
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I think beauty standards in general are disturbing and a shitty part of being human, but it s particularly disturbing that the body standard now is based on certain enhancements.
2
SPEAKER_00
It is kind of interesting though that it s more accessible than ever to fit the beauty standard, not necessarily financially because these procedures are very expensive.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s interesting because on one hand, it s unnatural, which is kind of horrible because no one is ever going to be born into the beauty standard, or very rarely will people be born into the beauty standard anymore.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s become something that is non-human almost.
2
SPEAKER_00
which means in order to get it, you have to go and change something about yourself for the most part.
2
SPEAKER_00
But then on the other hand, it s weird because anyone can go do it.
2
SPEAKER_00
Not anyone, because obviously again, there s a financial barrier, but technically anyone can go and book an appointment to go get a procedure done.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s very interesting and it s morally very confusing because
2
SPEAKER_00
Again, it all comes back to this is something that s available and if it s going to make you feel better about yourself, should you not do it for the sake of rejecting the beauty standard?
2
SPEAKER_00
Or should you make a decision that s more based on your own feelings and let yourself do it because who gives a fuck?
2
SPEAKER_00
At the end of the day, you got to take care of yourself and if you want to go do something,
2
SPEAKER_00
Hell, you should be able to go do it.
2
SPEAKER_00
This is sort of my dilemma.
2
SPEAKER_00
Again, I don t care what other people do.
2
SPEAKER_00
If you want to go and get surgery and make yourself look like a two-year-old because you want to look really, really young, okay, I don t care.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s none of my business.
2
SPEAKER_00
Go ahead and book that appointment.
2
SPEAKER_00
My God, be my guest.
2
SPEAKER_00
It is none of my fucking business.
2
SPEAKER_00
It has nothing to do with me.
2
SPEAKER_00
However, I am, again, analyzing this for myself.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, I go back and forth on it all the time.
2
SPEAKER_00
I really do.
2
SPEAKER_00
And there s a lot of factors that I consider.
2
SPEAKER_00
For example, I have a history of really bad body dysmorphia.
2
SPEAKER_00
That makes me vulnerable to becoming addicted to various procedures.
2
SPEAKER_00
possibly overdoing it, you know, getting too much done and looking not human anymore because of my body dysmorphia.
2
SPEAKER_00
Like I am at risk of that because I have suffered from that so much.
2
SPEAKER_00
So that s a factor that I consider.
2
SPEAKER_00
I also consider my happiness.
2
SPEAKER_00
What s going to make me happy?
2
SPEAKER_00
I almost think that there s no way to predict.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, I might turn 60 years old and say, fuck it.
2
SPEAKER_00
I want to get a facelift.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, that s what I want to do.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s going to make me happy.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s something that s going to make me feel good.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s not going to fulfill me, but that s something I want to do.
2
SPEAKER_00
Maybe that is what I m going to want to do.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I also love the idea of going the natural route and setting myself free.
2
SPEAKER_00
from that.
2
SPEAKER_00
Oh, fuck.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t know what I m going to do.
2
SPEAKER_00
I will say I m not doing anything now.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, the most that I do now is eat well, exercise.
2
SPEAKER_00
I quit vaping.
2
SPEAKER_00
I have not vaped in a very long time.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ll hit a vape every once in a while.
2
SPEAKER_00
If somebody has a vape around me,
2
SPEAKER_00
And they re blowing it in my face.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ll say, if you don t fucking let me hit that, it s done.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m throwing that thing out the fucking window, which is ironic because I used to be hitting my vape all the time in front of everyone.
2
SPEAKER_00
But, you know, I ll hit a friend s vape every once in a while if it s around me.
2
SPEAKER_00
Rarely, like maybe once a month, if that.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ve gone months without it.
2
SPEAKER_00
So I quit that.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m not, you know, I keep my drinking under control.
2
SPEAKER_00
I go through long phases of not drinking.
2
SPEAKER_00
And then I ll have little phases of drinking too, because I got to live a little.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t do any drugs at all.
2
SPEAKER_00
In fact, I m not into that.
2
SPEAKER_00
I try to manage my sleep and my stress as best as I can so that
2
SPEAKER_00
again, so that I m in the healthiest state possible, I m going to do that for as long as I can.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I might never get Botox.
2
SPEAKER_00
I might never get filler.
2
SPEAKER_00
I might never get a facelift.
2
SPEAKER_00
I might never get the laser treatments done.
2
SPEAKER_00
I might
2
SPEAKER_00
Go the all natural route.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I don t want to say that because I don t know if I m ready to die on that hill.
2
SPEAKER_00
Fuck.
2
SPEAKER_00
I wish I was though.
2
SPEAKER_00
Like I wish I could say with every fiber of my being, I know for a fact that that s the route I m going to go.
2
SPEAKER_00
Because although I think I m morally aligned with that, I also think that you only live once and if something s going to make you feel good and you can do it in a healthy way,
2
SPEAKER_00
and it s available, I can t decide if it s like having a devil and an angel on your shoulder.
2
SPEAKER_00
Like, is running away from aging wrong?
2
SPEAKER_00
Is getting cosmetic procedures done wrong?
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t think so, but I don t know.
2
SPEAKER_00
Again, I don t, I m not saying it s wrong.
2
SPEAKER_00
Is it wrong for others?
2
SPEAKER_00
I m more talking about, is it wrong for me?
2
SPEAKER_00
Like, do I not align with that?
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
2
SPEAKER_00
Like for myself, I don t know.
2
SPEAKER_00
For the world, I don t care.
2
SPEAKER_00
Do whatever you want.
2
SPEAKER_00
For me, I don t know.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I do have this overwhelming feeling in my gut that anytime that you are running away from the truth,
2
SPEAKER_00
you re running away from the inevitable, you ll fail in a way.
2
SPEAKER_00
And aging and getting wrinkles and getting gray hair is inevitable.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s the truth of the situation.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s almost like how you can t have your cake and eat it too.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ve never once in my life been able to have my cake and eat it too.
2
SPEAKER_00
There s certain truths in life that you can t avoid.
2
SPEAKER_00
Aging is one of them.
2
SPEAKER_00
But also, treating people badly is another one.
2
SPEAKER_00
Like you can t treat your friends badly, but then also keep those friendships for the rest of your life.
2
SPEAKER_00
Friends are going to leave.
2
SPEAKER_00
You can t date somebody who s bad for you and then be happy.
2
SPEAKER_00
You don t get to run away
2
SPEAKER_00
from aging and not have it bite you in the ass in some way.
2
SPEAKER_00
Maybe?
2
SPEAKER_00
I think that there s levels to it.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I really do think it depends on the person.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I think it s going to be curious to see what happens.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s also even weirder, I think, for me, because I am in the public eye and, you know, my appearance is heavily scrutinized.
2
SPEAKER_00
Not heavily.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m lucky.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t get it nearly as bad as other public figures, but I do get judged for my appearance 1,000%.
2
SPEAKER_00
In fact, something that comes to mind is some news outlet posted an article.
2
SPEAKER_00
The title of the article was, Gen Z is aging worse.
2
SPEAKER_00
than other generations.
2
SPEAKER_00
Why is this the case?
2
SPEAKER_00
Is it because of cosmetic surgeries?
2
SPEAKER_00
Like why are they aging badly?
2
SPEAKER_00
And it was a photo of me wearing no makeup.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, you can see my forehead lines.
2
SPEAKER_00
I have lines on my forehead from
2
SPEAKER_00
being very emotive.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, I had dark circles under my eyes.
2
SPEAKER_00
I had, you know, my eyes were kind of deep set in the photo.
2
SPEAKER_00
I had maybe a bit of wrinkles around my mouth in the photo because I was making a facial expression.
2
SPEAKER_00
And they used my photo to demonstrate how Gen Z is not aging very well.
2
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_00
That doesn t, that kind of ticked me off, but it didn t bother me that, it s fine, I don t care.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m not as upset by that, but it s also because I am still young, and I m not showing that many signs of aging yet.
2
SPEAKER_00
So it s not bothering me yet, but it s like, is it going to bother me at some point?
2
SPEAKER_00
I can t predict that.
2
SPEAKER_00
I hope that I only become more accepting of myself as I grow older.
2
SPEAKER_00
But being in the public eye is weird, you know, because everybody is commenting about your appearance at all times.
2
SPEAKER_00
People are obsessed with the way that celebrities look, the way that public figures look.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I wonder how being in the public eye will impact the way that I choose to go.
2
SPEAKER_00
Part of me feels like
2
SPEAKER_00
It s an act of rebellion and a cool one at that to be in the public eye, but to reject all of that and to say, you know what?
2
SPEAKER_00
No, somebody s got to look like a fucking normal 50 year old woman for fuck s sake.
2
SPEAKER_00
But then part of me is like, do I want to deal with the scrutiny that comes with that?
2
SPEAKER_00
Do I want to deal with the comments that come with that?
2
SPEAKER_00
Am I really being a hero by doing that?
2
SPEAKER_00
I m not sure.
2
SPEAKER_00
And so that s something I m still thinking about a lot.
2
SPEAKER_00
So it s safe to say that I haven t come to any sort of conclusion when it comes to my own path, but it is something that I m thinking about a lot, and I am curious to see what I end up doing.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m talking about it as though that it s not ultimately up to me, but I can t predict the way that I m going to feel, which is why I m not telling you today that I m going to go the all-natural route like I kind of want to.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m afraid of saying that.
2
SPEAKER_00
I can t die on that hill right now.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s too soon to say, but it s definitely what I m shooting for.
2
SPEAKER_00
I would really like to go that route because I think it aligns with my morals more so than the other route and it seems freeing in a way.
2
SPEAKER_00
The reason why I say it aligns with my morals more is because I really try to let my
3
SPEAKER_00
personality and my soul be my identity more than my appearance.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s not to say that my appearance is not a part of my identity because it absolutely is.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, the way that I present myself and you know, it s undeniably a part of my identity.
3
SPEAKER_00
I cannot, it is a part of everyone s identity whether they like it or not, but I try to have my personality and my soul, you know, be
3
SPEAKER_00
the majority of my identity and I try to find my worth there and I also Believe in trying to accept oneself for exactly what they are and to appreciate the beauty of that but in a society where that is not happening it feels like You must be superhuman in a way to like reject that especially in the bubble that I m in the bubble of of entertainment
3
SPEAKER_00
So all of that being said, we ll see, you know, like we ll see what I end up doing and what ends up.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I don t know.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t know.
3
SPEAKER_00
Anyway, my closing statement is I m just talking through my own personal experience and my own personal
3
SPEAKER_00
morals and ethics and values when it comes to these things, but it s not in any way to be better than anyone else.
3
SPEAKER_00
Like I m trying to figure out what it means to do the right thing for me.
3
SPEAKER_00
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_00
Doing the right thing for you has nothing to do with me and no way of living life is necessarily better than the other.
3
SPEAKER_00
Going the natural route is not necessarily better morally than
3
SPEAKER_00
going and getting cosmetic procedures done to prevent it.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know what I m saying?
3
SPEAKER_00
Like, I have to figure out what feels right for me, what feels morally right for me.
3
SPEAKER_00
But there is no morally right necessarily.
3
SPEAKER_00
And so I want to make that clear because if you re like, well, fuck, I want to get a facelift.
3
SPEAKER_00
What s wrong with that?
3
SPEAKER_00
There s nothing wrong with that.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s none of my business.
3
SPEAKER_00
So,
3
SPEAKER_00
You get what I m saying here.
3
SPEAKER_00
Like, all I m saying is, is that, like, don t take this personally, you know?
3
SPEAKER_00
This is not... This has nothing to do with you.
3
SPEAKER_00
I...
3
SPEAKER_00
I would hope that it makes you think about what s right for you in a way that s helpful because I think that it s important to analyze these things before we make decisions, you know, and to weigh the pros and cons of all options and to weigh the risks of different methods of living.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I think that is very important and I would want to inspire that.
3
SPEAKER_00
But I don t want to make anyone feel bad about, you know, maybe leaning towards the opposite route of me.
3
SPEAKER_00
Because again, there is no right and wrong in a broad sense.
3
SPEAKER_00
There s just a right and wrong for oneself.
3
SPEAKER_00
And it s a journey to figure that out.
3
SPEAKER_00
And only you can figure it out.
3
SPEAKER_00
And so that s what I m doing.
3
SPEAKER_00
Anyway, that s all I have to say.
3
SPEAKER_00
Hopefully, you enjoyed this.
3
SPEAKER_00
And if you did, new episodes of Anything Goes every Thursday and Sunday.
3
SPEAKER_00
You can stream anywhere.
3
SPEAKER_00
You get podcasts.
3
SPEAKER_00
Video is exclusive on Spotify, though.
3
SPEAKER_00
You can follow Anything Goes on Instagram, TikTok, all the platforms at Anything Goes.
3
SPEAKER_00
You can follow me on all the platforms at Emma Chamberlain or Emma Chamberlain.
3
SPEAKER_00
You can check out my coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee.
3
SPEAKER_00
We might be in a store near you.
3
SPEAKER_00
You can go to chamberlaincoffee.com and go to the store locator and see if we re in a store near you.
3
SPEAKER_00
Or you can just order online and it ll deliver to your door as it works when you order things online.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s all I have.
3
SPEAKER_00
Thank you all for listening and hanging out and hearing me out.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I m very curious to hear what you have to say about the topic and where you stand on it.
3
SPEAKER_00
So please let me know and I ll talk to you so soon.
3
SPEAKER_00
I love you all and appreciate you all.
3
SPEAKER_00
And thank you for supporting me and listening to me talk.
3
SPEAKER_00
You re awesome.
3
SPEAKER_00
All right.
3
SPEAKER_00
Talk to you soon.
3
SPEAKER_00
Bye.