In the story of Dorian Gray, Dorian ages backwards while his picture shows his real age. In real life, I am not alone in making the following confession. Until today, I was aging organically while my picture was staunchly rooted somewhere around 2009.
This was not a matter of at least conscious denial. I like how I’m aging. I went gray four years ago out of sheer curiosity, coupled with a sick feeling in my stomach every time I had to put out a lot of money to do something that I knew was damaging my increasingly fragile hair. I not only went grey, I went naturally curly, letting my freak flag fly. I like the freedom implicit in my new look. I can honestly say I’m having fun with it.
My photo, however, lagged behind, remaining a lovely shade of manicured blond, my overall demeanor professional rather than fierce, which makes sense, since it had been a company for whom I served as spokeswoman who had footed the bill for the make-up and hair, as well as the photographer who used about two dozen lights to get the desired effect of ageless beauty.
If you go to Google Images, you’ll see not only that familiar photo (which until yesterday graced this website) but a veritable parade of life stages, from which anyone who ever wants to write about me can choose. For this reason, I can’t promise that I’ve formally retired any of my portraits, but at least I have made a vow.
At least every couple of years, I’ll update the photos on my website. I don’t expect that by doing so I will reverse the effects of aging, but at the very least, I’ll have a shot at being recognized when we meet.
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and a link to CarolOrsborn.com.
