Remember the glory-days of rom-coms when we we’re treated to 27 Dresses, The Devil Wears Prada and Laws of Attraction? Well, we have one woman to thank for those works of art, and its writer Aline Brosh McKenna (maybe also an entire cast and crew but still). Why am I now suddenly thanking a random Hollywood writer for the films that raised our generation? Because Aline Brosh McKenna just gave us an entire new gift, by tweeting the age at which she wrote those masterpieces.
In a Twitter thread started by Aline, notable women have been highlighting the age at which they reached their peak success, in a bid to tackle to FOMOMG- that is, Fear Of Missing Out [on] My Goals (yes, we’re rolling our eyes at the acronym too, but bear with us). It was a term coined by model Leomie Anderson, who at 25-years-old, with a successful modeling career and her own clothing line asked, ‘Why do I feel like I am running out of time to achieve my goals?’ in a column for LAPP.
She wanted a house by 23, to be almost a millionaire at 25 and help her mum retire by 26. While they’re not exactly the most relatable goals, some of us are lucky to dream of owning a house by 30, her fear resonated deeply with anyone who has set themselves goal posts in life that are frankly, quite unrealistic.
Not only does setting goal posts for success based on your age cause you unnecessary stress and likely just sets you up for disappointment, it instils in us this idea that we should wait to be happy rather than just living in the moment and being grateful for what we have. The idea that one day, our lives will all just come together once we’ve got the house, secure finances, possibly be married, possibly have children, that only then are we allowed to relax and think ‘I have a great life’, it only reinforces negative thinking of your current life- which is probably, actually pretty great.
Realistically, once you’re at that stage you think you've met your goals, you'll have a whole host of new problems that you’re waiting to be over (the mortgage you’re paying off, the terrible twos, working in general - "can I retire yet?" was my (very successful) mum's favourite question when I was growing up). Until essentially, you’ve wished your life away all in pursuit of unrealistic goal posts that ultimately don’t mean anything if the journey hasn’t been fun. It’s the reason we end up every decade thinking, ‘I should’ve appreciated my 20’s more, I should’ve loved myself more in my 30’s, I was living my best life in my 40’s’ and so on and so on.
And that’s exactly what women on Twitter are proving in this new thread. ‘Nora Ephron was 51 when she directed her 1st movie. Nancy Meyers was 49. Their kids were grown,’ tweeted Aline, ‘If you're a woman who writes, acts, edits, ADs, etc and you're ready to direct, you're not too old. I was 47. Tell the people you work with your dream. Put your hand up. Men ask. Ask.’
‘Women over 40 change the world,’ added Nancy Wang Yuen, ‘Rosa Parks was 42 when she refused to give up her Montgomery bus seat. Susan B. Anthony was 58 & Elizabeth Cady Stanton was 63 when they introduced an amendment giving women the right to vote. Dolores Huerta is still registering voters at age 88.’
With Aline’s tweet getting 677 replies (along with 64,333 likes and 12,400 retweets), many women are jumping to prove that actually, age is irrelevant when it comes to achieving your dreams. ‘I’m 53 and my 1st book 📖 #BYDN was published in 2017,’ tweeted Kelly Hoey.
‘I wish someone had told me to embrace the power that comes with age,’ added Nancy, ‘Entering my 40s, I speak out more and take more risks. I am no longer shackled by fears of how others perceive me. I revel in my gifts and accept my shortcomings. I am free.’
Embrace your age ladies, if Trump can be president at 72, you can damn well achieve your dreams post-30