My musing for today comes after an exhausting day running around soaking up the wisdom and wiseness of media professionals at University and wondering if I will ever attain their heady heights of knowledge!

Surfing social media (as I always do during the day) waiting for that breaking story to chase, I stumbled upon the reoccurring theme of Rene Zellwegger on twitter and this got me pondering about women in the media and the expectations upon us to adhere to exacting standards – except seemingly the goalposts keep changing.

When I saw what had apparently happened to her face, several thoughts crossed my mind and I confess my first was “What has she done?!” However, has she done anything except to do what we all do i.e age?

Do we notice this more because she is a celebrity, and the question does beg, should we notice more because of that?

As someone who realises the tick tock of age and the call of the multi-nationals and their advertisements promising lotions and potions ready to cure all your beauty “imperfections”, it is slowly dawning on me that as the years tick on to my 40^th birthday, I am no longer in the sanctuary or safety of my smallholding where I can get away with growing older gracefully.

I am running with the big and beautiful media kids now, wondering how this thirty-something Mamma can reignite that inner mojo and tap into the “image” of success without selling out to the cure-alls which everyone knows actually aren’t.

I’m even questioning whether I should be trying to tap into this in the first place. Because in the end, we shouldn’t forget that it’s not what outside that counts, poor Rene. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.

My musing comes from the tragic case of Reeva Steenkamp. She was only 29 years old with the world at her feet and a promising career ahead of her.

Equally saddening were the events that unfolded on 14th February 2013 – a date usually synonymous with love and happiness, yet in a single act, Oscar Pistorius cut short not only her life, but wasted his own young life and plunged both their family and friends into a depth of despair they must carry with them for the rest of their lives.

I couldn’t help but reflect that to many millions of people watching the judgement, it was just an event happening through a TV set; some may even have seen the seven month trial as a media circus – amusing and entertaining in a macabre sort of way.

As I watched the court proceedings – Pistorius looking lost in the dock, and Reeva’s family and friends in the gallery clinging to each other for some semblance of comfort – I found my thoughts wandering to Reeva and thousands of other men and women all over the world who never take their chance for a better, peaceful life free from fear, violence and intimidation from a partner or friend.

For reasons only known to them, they cannot seem to take that courageous step and say enough is enough – for Reeva it was a fatal mistake. It should give us all food for thought that, even if we are not in the unfortunate position to be victims of domestic abuse, it doesn’t matter what age you are – if there is something in your life you are not happy with, then change it.

Do it today – make a list, take that dream, and jump.