Aging is a sin: this theme seems to recur and pulse through the minds of many people today. What people don’t notice, though, is as they age they become babies again; they fear new things, they are vulnerable to new dangers and they are exposed to new environments. In our society today, people look at aging as something to be ashamed about, something they should hide. People are scared of their changing appearances, how to care for parents as they age, and how to bear the weight of new responsibilities. However, it is only normal in today’s world to fear aging as one gets older; in all truth, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Older groups of individuals can only watch as their family members grow up and enjoy the prime of their youth, while they themselves feel left out and self conscious. Wrinkles, sagging flesh and deteriorating senses are some of the things people worry about as they age; our society formulates around money-making businesses that rely on these insecurities.

Plastic surgery has become a trend that many adults resort to as they become self-conscious of their looks and worry about losing respect from the younger generation. Skinny jeans and other slim-fitting attire has risen in popularity significantly during the past few years, and more individuals are paying close attention to both their accessories and appearance. However, what about appearance is this important?

In this day and age, everyone pays attention to the surface and the superficial aspects of a person. Like Dr. Maya Angelou, poet and author of "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," says, the way one looks has become valued too highly in our society. "When the skin begins to sag, many women go for Botox. Why on earth would you let somebody stick a needle in your face just to get rid of a wrinkle? [...] What do we have to do to place more value on age? We have to value ourselves not for what we look like or the things we possess but for the women we are.”

There is no use in worrying about appearances as a person gets older. It is only natural to see wrinkles appear, but there is no need to change what an individual looks like just to appear younger if not just for a year or two. In this statement, Dr. Angelou makes clear the values a woman should be cherishing compared to the values women cherish in the evolving generation of today.

All around us, the people we know are growing. This is how the world works. Relatives start out as infants and before we know it, they grow up as adults and eventually parents, grandparents, or even further up the family tree as great grandparents. Humans come and go every day around the world, loved ones leaving as fast as they came. As this recurring life cycle works its wonders, people begin to feel the pressure of taking care of their own parents as they age. It seems as if it was just a few days ago that childhood was here, but in the blink of an eye adulthood had arrived, and it brought along the burden of responsibility. People wonder how they will get their parents the care they need and how, financially, everything will work out.

At a certain phase in life, everything starts to fall on one’s shoulders and individuals start to feel the weight of responsibility towards elders. Others tell them that they should be taking care of their parents just like their parents took care of them when they were little. Such things become a worry as their age increases. Cicely Tyson, an actress in the movie, "The Help,' shared, “I've cared for my mother, my father, my sister, my brother. I've lost everyone in my immediate family. And when you're faced with those situations, despite the fact that you feel, 'Oh, God, if it ever happens to me, I won't be able to handle it,' you don't know how you'll actually respond until you're in the circumstance. I never anticipated that I'd be the sole surviving member of my family. And I found that when the time came, I did what I had to do. I think all human beings would do the same thing.”

When the burden of caring for family members gets passed down to the next person in the family, it is not necessarily something to be worried about. In fact, it is something that will come in time, something that will happen naturally as one grows older. Just like what Cicely Tyson said, when the time comes, human beings will be impelled to do what they need to do, a natural duty for people to do. Nothing about taking care of parents and immediate family should feel like a burden. It is something that comes along with aging and something people should be grateful for, to get the chance to take care of the people who took part in their own childhood.

Family is a very important part of a person’s life. Most people spend almost all of their lifetime with family and as they grow older, their family tree expands and continues to flourish. It is almost routine to see people get nervous and become scared of the future that is to come. They will soon be a dad or a mom to their own children and have to raise their own family. They will become a pillar of responsibility and a role model to their own children. People are scared of this feeling of having to hold up their own household just like their parents. Sometimes, they might just be scared of the idea of marriage because of past experiences as a child. However, individuals should realize that they are not the only ones scared of this experience. In fact, millions of people in the world are going through the same feelings of uneasiness and uncertainty. Without it, life would be a bit boring and absent from excitement of the unknown.

Not knowing how to do many things for the first time is something that people fear the most. They shy away from things they might fail in, things that might pose a threat of danger or unbalance to their lives. Taking the responsibility of children and addition of new family members to spend the rest of their lives with is something that when welcomed, can bring unpredictable events every day. Along with a bigger family comes a bigger bill to pay, whether it be for property, electricity, water, or more. There will be new instances in which people will be faced with applying for taxes for the first time. However, this is inevitable and will leave precious memories in life, whether good or bad. Earning money for the family is a rewarding feeling and things like this will continue to pop up in life as a person grows older. Bearing new responsibilities might not always sound like the most pleasing thing in the world, but there are many positives that come with it and as people mature, bearing new responsibilities will soon appear to be a good thing.

Aging, in today’s society, has become something shameful and something that people don’t want to go through. Wrinkles start to make people self-conscious and allow businesses, like plastic surgery, to grow and expand in an effort to make people look younger. However, there is nothing about aging to be ashamed about, and there is certainly nothing to be scared of. Responsibilities do come with growing up as a person, but they come with both the positives and the negatives. New experiences will come with the expansion of family and happiness will expand along with it. This society is always growing and evolving, and there are new people who continue to work hard to make our country a better place to live in. In this world, there is nothing that cannot be faced with optimism, especially if this generation begins to appreciate age for its beauty.