Defining emotions can be quite scientific and confusing. Some researchers even go as far as distinguishing between feelings and emotions. They say that feelings refer to the subjective experience of the emotion. Others believe that emotions can occur unconsciously. Feelings may also refer to the experiences we have during bodily changes.

Humans differentiate from animals, because of their intelligence and emotions. At least, that is what scientific research have revealed to us so far. Paralyzing grief and anger, gnawing anxiety, distressing envy and jealousy, irrational fear, inveterate hatred, desire, love, lust, the amount of emotions is endless. Most researchers have defined emotions, placed them in groups or categories, split them up by degrees, structures or components. It is a subject researched by many, with inconclusive and inconsistent results that lead to a lot of controversy.

I am not a scientist and am unfamiliar with the fancy explanations that highly informed psychologists can give us, as to why we have emotions. All I know is that they are a part of me, and I have the feeling they will continue to be so until the day I die.

When you are young and excited it seems that every emotion is heightened. The sun shines brighter, the loss of a boyfriend feels more painful, and when you fall in love you think your heart is going to explode. We are so involved in these new experiences that we do not stand still to wonder what "the old folks" are feeling, or if they are still feeling anything at all. I can honestly say that I never wondered if my parents were jumping for joy behind closed doors, or if they were worried when I missed curfew. Yes, they were angry, but somehow that did not seem as important as the excitement I had felt that night.

My teenage years went by fast. Before I knew it I was married with children. I was suddenly confronted with a new set of emotions, especially after my son and daughter were born and, then again, when my marriage was deteriorating. New feelings were adding to the old ones, which felt to be shifting to different levels.

Now that I have reached the 50-plus generation I realize that body and mind are two completely separate entities when it comes to the aging process. Unlike our physique, emotions do not grow older, they merely shift. I still feel the passionate urge to dance when I hear music, join into an old, familiar song when it plays through a store's loudspeakers, and my heart still flutters when my husband returns home from work at night. I get excited about an unexpected gift and, like before, I still cry during a sad or romantic movie, and continue to look forward with anticipation to my children's letters.

Growing older comes with many changes. Our bodies don't feel as springy as they once did, and if there isn't something twitching or squeaking we get worried. The age aspect is displayed all around us, and is a fact we cannot deny. When we grow older our physical condition starts to crumble, and until a super talented genius finds that magic potion that will stop the aging process, or maybe even reverse it, we will eventually lose our youthful physical abilities; the way we used to jump around when we were young adults will eventually fade away.

Classified as a baby-boomer, I have come to my personal conclusion that emotional alterations will continue to occur as I grow older. Some situations that once would have driven me crazy, no longer do so. I may still get a little nervous going to a job interview, but it will no longer keep me awake at night. I do not get girlishly giggly anymore when I meet a man, because I am deeply in love with my husband, and can look another male in the eye without imagining ripping his clothes off. I do get more worried if I wake up with a cough, because throughout my life I have been confronted with certain illnesses and know what they can do to us. Those experiences on the other hand, will not stop me from still having the desire to try out new things and taking moderate risks. I still want to learn, try out new exciting hobbies, taste innovative gourmet foods and see the world. In other words, past mid-life, like so many of my kind, I still have the desire to live and feel every bit of emotions I possibly can. Even if my body, at times, can be a bit of a show-stopper, I still want to successfully perform on the wonderful stage, life has built for me.