“AN EVENT celebrating has-beens and oldies”, was what my husband said when I asked for his thoughts about the Oscars.

I shot him a disapproving look.

He retorted: “Think about it. Brendan Fraser and Michelle Yeoh? They fall into the either-or category.”

Ouch.

But in hindsight, I suppose that’s what the event that night was all about. Celebrating people who were deemed past their prime. Or are they?

Just because Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t always have top billing does not mean they are past their prime. Far from it – they remain in show business and continue to hone their craft.

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Quan, who won Best Supporting Actor, was a child star in the 1980s, playing Harrison Ford’s sidekick in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). But he largely disappeared from the limelight by the turn of the millennium, instead, working behind the scenes on productions from X-Men (2000) to Wong Kar Wai’s 2046 (2004).

Best Supporting Actress Curtis, on the other hand, has been a mainstay on the silver screen, with a varied career spanning A Fish Called Wanda (1988) to the Halloween franchise. But she took a break from acting in the mid-2000s to focus on her family, returning to a series of voice parts and supporting roles as the 2010s rolled around.

As Best Actress winner Michelle Yeoh put it at her acceptance speech: “Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re ever past your prime.”

But really. It isn’t just the ladies. No one should be told that the opportunity to be the best version of themselves has already passed them by.

In the works

How many times have you heard a friend say, “Oh, it’s better to settle into your job after you hit 40, as the chances of you getting another one become slimmer as age catches up”?

That conversation would invariably end with, “You know, you are competing against the younger ones.”

If that doesn’t sound familiar, what about this: “If you want that promotion, now is the time. As you get older, the chances diminish.”

While that stereotype might have stemmed from the older generation, it can be broken.

Take for example my job of editing. It may seem thankless and low-profile. However, the knowledge gleaned from the many articles that I read daily, and the consistent improving of the language skills make me believe that this role will always be one that I enjoy and appreciate. In fact, doing this profession is akin to the ageing of fine wine – one gets better at it over time.

And of course, the genuine interest in this area will likely keep me continuing on the path, whether I am in my prime or not.

I also learnt that the skills mastered as a sub-editor can be put to good use with some of my hobbies. As far-fetched as it may sound, I have come to like baking because of my job. Unlike cooking, where an estimation of the ingredients is sometimes good enough, baking requires precision.

A baker will know that the lack of an ingredient, or a miscalculation, is all that is needed for the cake to not rise. A dash of anal-retentive personality is what is needed when baking – and to be a sub-editor. After all, it is such a trait that enables one to spot what may seem trivial in an article, such as an extra spacing or letter.

So who knows? Opening a bakery may be in the works for me in future.

Even in a personal setting, if there is a passion that you want to pursue, why should age be a barrier?

Just like a former colleague who took voice lessons when she was in her 50s, and went on to perform in public.

Age certainly was not an obstacle when she decided to try out something new – and before Yeoh, she was among the first to teach me that age is not something that should limit or define one.

So who says dreams – and fulfilling them – are the prerogative of the young?

Yeoh is right – no one is ever past their prime. We can only get better.