I was in class the other day and heard someone say something along the lines of old people being incompetent. It broke my heart to hear such inconsiderate words towards those who have seen so many more years than us. People immediately assume that just because one has aged, they’re no longer a contributing factor to society. But they’re way more important than that.

My immediate response to this was, “you’re going to be that old some day.” Or maybe he won’t even make it past tomorrow. Who knows? I was stunned at how closed-minded this statement was, as this person wasn’t even taking into account that he himself is aging every single moment.

Our ripening bodies carry all of our stories. The wrinkle lines in our faces indicate where all of our laughs and cries took place throughout the entirety of our lives. The homes to our souls go through everything with us; they’ve always protected us. We owe it to them to embrace growing gracefully and take care of them like the ancient artifacts that they are.

Time is aging. We need to show unconditional respect towards those who have already collected all of these years under their belts. After all, it is the inevitable in life, and they’ve gotten through a large percentage of theirs. We should be praising them for getting through 100% of their bad days, because we know what going through our days of hell is like.

Something people don’t take into consideration is that elders have endured pain that we as youths aren’t even aware exists yet. They’ve witnessed the literal and metaphorical deaths of so many loved ones whom they used to share their lives with. They’ve watched moments be cut short from people that they thought they would know forever. Although a lot of us can relate to this level of pain, imagine having 60+ additional years of enduring it.

I came across this quote that I felt summed up aging pretty well: “What helps with aging is serious cognition – thinking and understanding. You have to truly grasp that everybody ages. Everybody dies. There is no turning back the clock. So the question in life becomes: What are you going to do while you’re here?” –Goldie Hawn

Aging is the alternative to death, so let's be grateful and take advantage of it. With each year, we don't lose youth, we gain more opportunity and strength. We need to learn how to grasp this concept of inevitable change, and accept the fact that we are all ticking time bombs. We are all at different stages within our lives, but two things remain constant: time and change.

You'd be surprised in the tiny parts of yourself that you could find in everyone you meet. Even if they're 3 or 4 times your age. We can learn something from everybody, and to be honest, you can probably learn a lot more from an elder than someone close to your age. We are all human beings living just as intricate lives as one another, and we're always told to rest peacefully once we've died, but we also deserve to live in peace as we age.