July 5, 2022
Rasha El Roumy-Sabet

It is worldly discussed that 50 is the new 30 that’s not true for me.

Having now hit The Big 50 I can safely say, that at least for me, 50 is the new 16.

When I was 30, I lived in a big house in the Suburbs of NYC with my husband and 3 kids. I worked in a beautiful Fifth Avenue conglomerate. I wore pretty clothes that had to be dry cleaned. I went to fancy cocktail parties and car pooled with my 3 kids for soccer and lacrosse games. Life was full!

At 50, I live in Egypt by the Pyramids. I am a part-time writer and a full-time virtual mom. I spend most of my time with my husband and five Yorkshire’s mostly traveling, gardening and dinning with our favorite couples. When I do need to get dressed up for any occasional event, I view it as a big deal.

I don’t feel at all like I did when I was 30.

I do, however, feel an awful lot like I did when I was 16. I know, it sounds crazy but stay with me on this one.

At 16, I wondered what I would be when I grew up and spent a lot of time trying to figure it out. At 50, I’m still wondering what I would like to be when I grow up, and I am spending a lot of time trying to figure it out.

At 16, I had to wait for my parents to leave the room so I could make out with my boyfriend. At 50, I have to wait for my mother to leave the room so I can make out with my husband.

At 16, my hormones were all over the place and affected everything from the texture of my hair and skin to my waist and chest. At 50, my hormones are all over the place and are affecting everything from the texture of my hair and skin to my waist and chest.

At 16, I daydreamed about living in New York City and ditching the suburbs. At 50, I daydream about going back and living in New York City and ditching the suburbs of Egypt.

When I was 16, I felt restless and on the brink of something amazing. I knew I had my whole life ahead of me, and fear was not a thought.

But at 50? My life is as settled as a married women and mother of three.

Yet, I do feel on the brink of something new. At times I find it thrilling, and at times it scares the heck out of me.

Unlike my younger self, what others think about the way I look or the way I choose to live my life carries very little weight. There is a freedom that comes with age. Not unlike the freedom we feel in our teens.

The heck with feeling like I’m 30.

50 is the new 16.

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