I remember one Sunday when I was around 15 or so; we were heading out to the car to go to church. My aunt who had just turned 40 made the weirdest comment; from a 15 year old perspective anyway; she said "Well they say life begins at forty". Now for some reason that saying has always stayed with me. Really couldn't understand at the time why anyone would say something like that...didn't make sense to me anyway. Just for reference-my aunt & uncle who had 3 children of their own took me in when I was around 8 years old to raise me.

Well now that I am in my early fifties I have finally realized the answer. BTW, my aunt who made that comment started her own Real Estate business after the age of 50 and after several years still continues to run that business. Since she accomplished that and you read where lots of women have started up business or gotten some type of degree I thought to really believe that "life begins after 40" you had to be this big success; not so. I know I will probably never start my own business, rule the world or get the letters PHD after my name; but, life did begin after 40 or maybe truly after 50.

I know now that I can be myself and not what others are trying to make me or want me to be; I don't have to be like my co-worker, my aunt, or my successful CEO friend. I can just be ME and be happy with that. I know that I don't need everyone to like me, I just need to like myself. I know it's okay not to be perfect & making mistakes is part of life. I now know that no matter how perfect people around you think they are; they aren't. I now know that life has allot to offer and it is how we accept that offer that determines who we truly are. I now know that life wasn't that great through High school and I wouldn't want to ever go back. I know that "Life does begin after 40" as I have traveled a little less then half way through my years on this earth and hopefully I have gained more wisdom and knowledge then I did at 12 I thought I knew most everything, or at 16 when I was sure I did know everything, or at 20 when I thought I had the world in my hands.