The way I see it, you're born, you crawl, you babble, you talk, you walk, you make friends, you make mistakes, you do really dumb mistakes, you watch a cartoon or two, you watch the news, then somehow miraculously, you emerge into adulthood. It's like you simply shed off all those years off mistakes and experiences that mould you into becoming this adult individual you are today. But have we really "grown" or are we still the same person we were years ago?
Let's discuss this in categories. There's the physical aspect, then there's the emotional or intellectual aspect. The physical aspect really does the explanation by itself, your body grows from a baby to an adult. Then everybody simply expects you to start acting like one because you're at the right age and size. Now, what about our internal growth? Have we really changed at all, or are we still the same person we were back when we were kids, only now stuck in an adult's body? The answer would probably remain an open-ended series of debates, some saying you're no less of the child you were years ago, while some say that child no longer exists within you, that you have now achieved the brain and intellect of an adult, therefore you are a full-fledged adult.
To answer in both extremisms would be pretty unfair. Who's to say that a stoic looking 23 year old doesn't have a child bursting with creativity and life within him or her? To me, being an adult isn't about always the correct choices, or having to always stay within the line and conform to the rules of the society since you've stepped into the cold adult world. Being an adult is about embracing your inner flaws, wholly, completely, without prejudice and simply being comfortable within your own skin. That's the first step to being an adult. If you can't accept the person you were then, the child or teenager who grew all those years, collecting laughter and scars throughout your life, how would you have been the person you are today?
Of course this brings me to my next point, embracing yourself does not just mean living with yourself as you are. Oh no, it isn't that easy. It means that you shouldn't be afraid of falling back into that person, child or teenager, whenever you feel like doing so. Of course this doesn't mean that you should immediately burst out laughing during a funeral, that's just plain suicidal. The person you were then would have taught you how to behave in public, what to wear, say, or not to say, at specific and appropriate times. So then, what was the point of me saying that? Your inner child or teenager does not have to be locked up for eternity simply because you're an adult. That's horrible. It's like you're killing yourself, metaphorically speaking. It's the same as caging up another person inside you, in the jail of your brain. If you are the adult you believe you are, then you would know that you would be able to fully trust "yourself" and "let loose" once in a while. Nobody teaches you how to be the perfect adult. You just have to learn it all by yourself. Responsibilities, Time and Company all come crashing in, and you'll find yourself only being able to juggle two at a time. Then soon after, after you go through the notions of life, you die. Then what?
Of course this brings me to my next point, embracing yourself does not just mean living with yourself as you are. Oh no, it isn't that easy. It means that you shouldn't be afraid of falling back into that person, child or teenager, whenever you feel like doing so. Of course this doesn't mean that you should immediately burst out laughing during a funeral, that's just plain suicidal. The person you were then would have taught you how to behave in public, what to wear, say, or not to say, at specific and appropriate times. So then, what was the point of me saying that? Your inner child or teenager does not have to be locked up for eternity simply because you're an adult. That's horrible. It's like you're killing yourself, metaphorically speaking. It's the same as caging up another person inside you, in the jail of your brain. If you are the adult you believe you are, then you would know that you would be able to fully trust "yourself" and "let loose" once in a while. Nobody teaches you how to be the perfect adult. You just have to learn it all by yourself. Responsibilities, Time and Company all come crashing in, and you'll find yourself only being able to juggle two at a time. Then soon after, after you go through the notions of life, you die. Then what?
I sidetracked. Much apologies.
So, I shall conclude that there is no way of properly growing up, or being an adult, for that matter. Each individual will grow and figure it out for themselves. Just a lesson in life, take life one day at a time. Don't worry too much, don't live in the past and just enjoy the present and let the rest play themselves out. Let God worry about the rest.
I wrote this because I was stunned for a second, remembering that my teenage years are fast coming to an end. And I am not prepared to fully let it go. Yet, as it turns out, I won't have to. Not everything.
