This is 52: Nina Lorez Collins Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire

"Aging has given me more grace, more wisdom, more serenity."

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.”

Here, Revel Chief Creative Officer and author Nina Lorez Collins responds. - Sari Botton

***Stay tuned for news of a forthcoming collaboration between Revel and Oldster Magazine!***

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Nina Lorez Collins at 52. Photo by Tanya Malott.

How old are you?

52

Is there another age you associate with yourself in your mind? If so, what is it? And why, do you think? 

No, I feel every bit of 52. It’s been a long road to get here. I never understand when people say they really feel 28 or whatever.

Do you feel old for your age? Young for your age? Just right? Are you in step with your peers?

Growing up I was always precocious—eager to be an adult early, always had older friends and boyfriends. Now I feel like I’ve caught up, even though my boyfriend describes me as a “professional old person.”

I don’t feel at all irrelevant, except in ways that don’t matter to me, like not knowing who the people are in PEOPLE magazine.

What do you like about being your age?

The freedom I have and the confidence I feel.

What is difficult about being your age?

I’m closer to death. Otherwise nothing.

What is surprising about being your age, or different from what you expected, based on what you were told?

I don’t feel at all irrelevant, except in ways that don’t matter to me, like not knowing who the people are in PEOPLE magazine.

What has aging given you? Taken away from you?

Aging has given me more grace, more wisdom, more serenity. Thank God on all. It has taken away from me a sense of endless possibility.

How has getting older affected your sense of yourself, or your identity?

I like myself so much more than ever before, and feel accepting of what I’m good at and what I’m bad at. I know my limitations and I’m comfortable in them. I like my body. I like my skin.

I meet women in the Revel community every day who make me feel great about aging. There’s one seventysomethingwoman, Talula Cartwright from North Carolina, who I see on Zoom most Monday nights in a writing worksop. She blows me away with her intellect, grace, and talent.

What are some age-related milestones you are looking forward to? Or ones you “missed,” and might try to reach later, off-schedule, according to our culture and its expectations?

I’m excited to have grandchildren, and to see my “adult” children become full-fledged adults.

What has been your favorite age so far, and why?

It’s most definitely now, at 52, and I hope I keep feeling that way with each passing year, but who knows? Looking back I’d say that 37-42 is probably the most powerful for a woman all-around in the sense that at that age I may have objectively looked my best and was still considered “young” in the way that society reveres. But I was also mostly miserably unhappy, still untangling my messy childhood and first marriage. It’s only now, after so many experiences and so much inner work, that I’ve found equilibrium.

Is there someone who is older than you, who makes growing older inspiring to you? Who is your aging idol and why?

I meet women in the Revel community every day who make me feel great about aging. There’s one seventysomethingwoman, Talula Cartwright from North Carolina, who I see on Zoom most Monday nights in a writing worksop. She blows me away with her intellect, grace, and talent. And Jane Fonda!

I like myself so much more than ever before, and feel accepting of what I’m good at and what I’m bad at. I know my limitations and I’m comfortable in them.

What aging-related adjustments have you recently made, style-wise, beauty-wise, health-wise?

I can’t eat bread or refined sugar anymore. Hardly any pasta, no rice. I just feel better on a cleaner, mostly plant and fish diet.

What’s an aging-related adjustment you refuse to make, and why?

So far I can’t give up wine but I buy these Keto/low sugar wines from Dry Farm Wines and they are delicious!

What’s your philosophy on celebrating birthdays as an adult? How do you celebrate yours?

My philosophy on almost everything is “you do you.” Do what you want. For me on my birthday sometimes that means a big party, sometimes it means a tiny one, and sometimes it means I just want to be alone on the beach and do almost nothing.

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Nina Lorez Collins is the Chief Creative Officer for Hello Revel, the events & community platform for women over 40, as well as the founder of The Woolfer, which Revel acquired in 2021. Her book, What Would Virginia Woolf Do? And Other Questions I Ask Myself As I Attempt to Age Without Apology, was published in April 2018. She’s a graduate of Barnard College, has a Masters degree from Columbia in the field of Narrative Medicine, and a long professional background in book publishing, both as a literary scout and then as an agent. Nina is the board chair of the Brooklyn Public Library as well as a trustee of the publishing house Spiegel & Grau. In addition to her work at Revel, she manages the literary estate of her late mother, the filmmaker and writer Kathleen Collins. She has four grown children and lives in Brooklyn.