Friday, July 11, 2008

Why are people afraid of getting older?

Interesting "Where Are They Now?" section in SI. Jon Wertheim's piece on Anna Kournikova was particularly good. In describing how she's changed over the 10 years (from 1998 to 2008), she says:

"Of course, I'm a different person! People say, 'I can't believe how much you've changed!' What did they expect? People grow, evolve. It would be sad if I didn't change! I put pressure on myself, especially as I got older. At 16,17 you have no fear. You don't think or analyze. You just play on automatic. You can get smarter as you get older, but in sports you can be too smart, you know. Here's one thing I don't get. Why are people afraid of getting older? You feel wiser. You feel more mature. You feel like you know yourself more."