How Old is Old

In a typical “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” game…

Host: For $25, answer this question. Which of the following signifies old age?

• a. The white streaks of hair start to outnumber the black ones on your head.
• b. The signs of profound forgetfulness go from bad to worse, then from worse to worst.
• c. The alacrity has been already drained out in your system, and you are labeled as a curmudgeon by the “younger” generation.
• d. There’s a manifestation of learning to accept, rise and live.

Suddenly, these thoughts emerged from the mind of the contestant:

The present societal norm when it comes to being old is dictated by age. Old people are stereotyped and perceived to be as “white haired people incapable of recalling simple and complex things who are boring, most of the time”.

But for me, one thing is for sure: the term “old” refers to an adjective and is presented qualitatively therefore we cannot measure it quantitatively. We can’t go on trying to find a plausible connection between age and oldness. Probably, this is the reason why “senior citizens” are not termed as “old citizens”.

More often than not, an old person has already ticked all the check box when it comes to success. It is the state wherein we often catch ourselves nostalgically reflecting on everything that has happened in our lives and evaluating them according to our standards.

It can come anytime. It can come early, though it is most common to attain it during the latter part of our lives.

Being old doesn’t relate to physical appearance (a.), memory (b.) nor social competence (c.); being old means being “old” enough to learn how to accept mistakes, how to rise up each time we fall and how to live a life worth living (d.).

Host: I hate to interfere. In fact, you have to take your time. But time is almost up. I need your answer now.

Contestant: D. Learning how to accept, rise and live. Final Answer.

This post is dedicated to my father and Catherine who’ll be celebrating their birthdays on October. The latter is having a birthday contest. For details, click here. Now I’m tagging Mary Grace, Jonell, Ate Grace, Karen and Lei.