Got Good Genes?

Ok, I'm 34 and I've been thinking a lot about aging. I look at my mother and grandmother and honestly I believe that they both look really good for their age. In fact, I think that they look younger than their age. Sometimes I look at myself for signs of aging, wrinkles, bags under the eyes, you know what I'm talking about. I know that I've aged, however not to sound conceited, I think I've held up pretty well. I know that I've looked worse when I was in my mid 20's. Which makes me believe that diet and exercise definitely make a difference. I've exercised more in my 30's than I ever did in my 20's. Also I don't smoke or drink excessively. Recently I've met other women who appear to be much older than me, then to my surprise, are much younger than me. Some of them have had a tough life and it shows in their skin. Some of them, I'm not sure why they look older considering that they take good care of themselves. It's got to be the genes. After spending two years in Japan, I admit, it's hard to tell how old Japanese women are. For the most part, they look really young. Good genes I think or maybe it's the diet (lots of fish and vegetables). I have a friend that makes fun of me b/c I claim my 25% Japanese every chance that I can. Well, maybe I'm fortunate enough to have 25% good Japanese genes that will keep me looking younger. Think I'll play it safe though and keep running and eating healthy.

OK, I just reread this post and I didn't mean to sound vain. Really, I didn't. I think aging has been on my mind a lot b/c of Facebook. Recently I've had a lot of old high school friends hit me up on Facebook. I'm sometimes surprised by their profiles. Some of them look like they did in high school, while others are unrecognizable. I often think about how much we change and why. It will always be a mystery.