There are so many different connotations that go along with asking someone’s age, and a lot of it has to do with different ways that we ourselves perceive age. What someone should have done or not done by a certain age is only fact in our minds because of the life we have lived. But everyone is different.

So no matter how old you were when you discovered your passion, or if you haven’t discovered it yet, that is of no consequence. What matters is how passionately you go after your dreams and how much you believe in yourself, age aside. Because whether you are very young or very old, or somewhere in between, like me, you have every right to chase your desires. The only time age is an issue is when we make it one.

So, I had a birthday. And I happen to adore birthdays. Not so much the celebrating of them with a party and a cake (though I do love cake…) but more the idea that life moves forward and with each passing moment I learn something new about it. I love celebrating life and how wonderful it is to be here. I am so grateful for it.

The question of age comes up very often for me. When I am speaking somewhere or teaching or exhibiting, one thing that everyone seems to want to put in the introduction is how old I am. I’m not sure why there is a preoccupation with age, but to me, it is irrelevant. We are as old as our imaginations.

So when someone asks me how old I am, I want to respond with this simple statement:

I am old enough to know right from wrong.
Old enough to know love.
Old enough to have a business.

I am young enough to chase my dreams.
Young enough to believe my dreams can come true.
Young enough to understand my imagination.

Numbers mean so little. So while I could sit here and tell you that I am now 27 years old, it doesn’t mean anything. What matters more is impossible to put into words, let alone numbers. What matters is how we embrace who we are, our imaginations, and our dreams. Old or young, everyone deserves that much.

How old (or young) do you feel?