“You girls are so beautiful. What I would give to be 50 years younger again,” she said. “Don’t get old and wrinkly, stay young and beautiful.”
These words touched my soul today as this kind, old, beautiful woman sat down next to me. She was dressed to the nines and sparkled with every word that she spoke.
“Combat the world with enthusiasm. Use it in every chance you get.”
She anxiously fumbled a napkin, rolling it back and forth over her fingers. I couldn’t tell if she was nervous, or if it was comforting to her. Somehow holding her poise and composure completely together, that she might break completely apart if she were to lose contact with that white dinner napkin. She was beautiful and spoke with such confidence.
I find inspiration at the oddest points in my life, at the most random of times. Sitting at my friend’s bridal shower, I was instantly flooded with emotions, and hit with reality like a ton of bricks. Here was my friend’s great aunt sharing her words of wisdom with me, and I wasn’t about to miss an opportunity.
She spoke with a slight southern accent and her eyes floated back and forth, not focusing exactly on one spot. She shared her story of visiting Cameroon in the 1960s on a mission trip, and how she landed her dream teaching job before she had even graduated college.
It was then that I was completely ok with where my life was going. I don’t need a set plan, I don’t need direction. I’m young, and passionate and free to go wherever life takes me. I’m ready for adventure, and mystery. I can’t wait to sit down to a table of young women when I’m in my 60s and tell them stories of my youth. And one day I hope they’re just as inspired as I was.
TheDailyHaley 