The vacation finally. Long awaited, after every semester exam. It doesn’t matter how the last exam goes by. What matters is how fast we can snatch a ride back home. Not to forget the list we make before vacation about the kinds of stuff we plan to do during the holidays. Well, hardly a few of us ever manage to actually check a tick to all those planned stuff. So anyone out there, if you ever wondered if it’s only you who mess up with your “to-do” vacation list every time, you can take a chill pill.
You have got a partner here.
Just a few years back, there were school vacations. Now, college vacations. And for those who have started working, the thirst for a long vacation. Growing up, aren’t we all?
My last post made my mind pass through a kind of whirlwind process. Not many appreciated the topic. I am always afraid of criticisms. They make you “overthink” every move.
Overthink, did I mention? Not again. I am done with that topic; time to move on to my next post.
Whatsoever, mistakes happen. And we need to digest criticisms. No one ever has literally set a perfection bar for anything. It’s obvious that we can make mistakes if it’s our first time attempting something. But it’s from the mistakes that we learn. The criticisms help us shape ourselves. All these are a part of growing up. Growing up as a writer, growing up as a person, growing up like someone we admire or consider our role model.
Looking back, we all have grown up now. Every year we celebrate our birthdays but rarely do we think on that day that the increasing age is an indication that we are growing up. Gone are the days when our parents would spoon-feed us everything. Gone are the days when we hardly had to care about the world around us. However, of course, no matter how much we grow up, we will still be “kids” to our parents. But the world that we get to know as kids, becomes different when we grow up. Or does it? Well, it remains more or less the same. The change we feel is because we get more exposure to the real world as we grow up than when we were kids.
A few months ago mom and dad had to go out of station. Generally, every time when they do go out for a week or so, they call our old caretaker to look after the house when they are away. Also, to look after us- to make sure we have our food on time, to make sure we don’t miss our classes at school, to make sure that we are keeping up with our studies
and so many other things. But this time, he wasn’t available. Turned out he had some other chores to do. So, after a lot of tea-time discussions (that more often included with mom worrying whether my younger brother and I would be able to stay safely without them and then me assuring her with a “Of course we can” reply), our parents finally decided to go, leaving the house in our care.
The pangs of realization that struck hard after that. Until we are bound to be responsible, we fail to see how our parents manage to run things so smoothly at home. But when the time comes to run those similar things smoothly for us, we realize that it’s never a piece of cake. Now I am not saying that realizing this alone means we have entered that phase of “growing up”. No. The realization together with the feeling of responsibility on your shoulder and trying to smoothly carry out those same household chores amidst mistakes- that is a part of growing up.
Back then when we were kids, there was our desperation to quickly grow up. Because growing up apparently seemed so wonderful at that time. And why wouldn’t it? Because growing up included getting “the FREEDOM”. What we fail to realize at that time is the fact that we aren’t the only ones who will grow up. Along with that, everything around us will move forward and grow too. And now, having grown up, we all thirst for those bygone days. Scrolling through memes in Facebook that has written “Only 90’s kids will know this” or “Like if you too did this when you were a kid”, it makes us wonder how time has passed by and how wonderful those days were.Ah! What wouldn’t we trade for to get our carefree childhood days back now?
Another part of growing up is the initial difficulty to digest the fact that our parents won’t always be there for us. They won’t always be available to pamper us. Of course, it feels good when we talk to our mom over the phone and discuss with her all our problems. Or ask dad for some pocket money. And whatever be, to know that our parents have our back always is mind relieving enough. But then, for how long? A time eventually comes in our growing-up cycle when we have to cater to our own needs. And also cater to the needs of our parents. We will have to take care of our own selves and also solve our own problems.
Those few lucky ones manage to find a few true friends who will stick with them through thick and thin.
Then again, many people confuse maturity with growing up. They are not synonymous. Often, they say you are fully matured when you grow up. But hey, don’t adults act immaturely in certain situations? Does that mean they are not “fully” grown up? I have a different perspective to this notion entirely. Sometimes, a 10-year old can behave more maturely than a 34-year old. It’s not about the age. Nor is it about “I have lived on this planet for more years than you, so I know more about how the world works”. It’s about knowing what is right and how to do it right. We have seen adults fight among each other and promising never to talk or see each other again after that. We have seen how some teachers or professors vent out their anger or seek revenge in their own ways on students. A better example still, switch on the TV, grab the remote and watch the Lok Sabha proceedings in the Parliament Channel of India. See how immaturely some of our statesmen behave. Then question yourself-“Aren’t they grown-ups? But grown-ups are supposed to be mature enough not to fight like that.”
Someone once told me we are more mature than we think we are. Understand the fact that just because you are a grown-up, doesn’t always mean you are mature enough. We are never too young or too old to be mature.
That’s all. I think it’s enough to acquaint your minds with the thoughts of growing up.
It’s a new year, again. For the 2017th time. As we dive into it, let’s move forward with new enthusiasm and new hope towards a better life.
As we grow up slowly with every coming year, let’s learn to be more responsible and learn to treasure and enjoy every moment that comes by.
Time to wrap up, for now, folks.
Happy New Year.
Keep reading.
Because we never grow up enough to say no to candies and chocolates. 🙂
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