Grow Up

One must surely have heard these words yelled at him or her by different people at various stages of one's life – Be it the teacher in school who always thought her class is worse than a fish market, or your parents who want you to be more responsible and mend your careless ways, or be it the girl who once fell for that very mischievous childish you she can't seem to tolerate any more of. Everyone seems frustrated at the carelessness, at your incapacity or denial to understand certain things and behave in an expected manner. What is really the cause of their frustration? Why grow up when growing up means one is grumpy most of the time and wants everyone else to grow up, be grumpy and give you company? Most grown-ups don't set a good example themselves. They seem to be more desperate than ever to get back to being a child, but they just aren't able to do that. Responsibility is the big excuse. What does the phrase 'being a child at heart' really mean? Its about knowing and doing simple little things that give you joy and happiness. When having a paper in a few days that you don't have a damn clue about didn't stop you from going to the movie in college, why should the thought of some pending chore later in the day stop you from enjoying that long morning drive on the beach? It does, because you've supposedly grown up.

Many of us have led lives of procrastination in some sense or the other. Do well in 10^th, after that you'll enjoy. Do well in 12^th, you have the entrances to clear. Then you can enjoy. Do well in college; this is what will get you a job after all. Then you can enjoy. This job isn't going to pay you enough to enjoy, so do a PG and life will never be the same again. Yes, you earn enough now. But what when you think about starting a family? Start saving. Only then you can enjoy. Earlier you thought you needed money, now you think you need time. Not to underestimate any of the stages in life mentioned above that we are expected to do exceedingly well in, I fully agree about them being important and the necessity to do well in each of them. But 'Joy' shouldn't be procrastinated. It isn't like money that grows with time and compound interest. Different things give us joy at different stages of our lives and they cannot really be procrastinated. They come with their expiry dates after which they become meaningless and one can only 'sigh' about what he should have done. I guess being a child at heart doesn't mean to be careless and not accept responsibility, but rather knowing what gives you joy and appreciating its importance over a quest for the uncertain future. Find something that makes you happy today, that makes you forget the world and more importantly, find time for it. Find time for yourself. You are worth it.

Going on exchange was one decision that I'm so glad to have taken. Seeing the world as a student, acting miserly and stingy, going to fabulous places with friends was all part of an experience that I would have missed out forever had I thought about the marks I could score, the competitions I could have won and the money that I could have saved had I stayed back. But, I am glad I didn't. Money will come. Student and college life will never come back. The joy associated with this stage of life is never going to come back. I might go to the same places again, but doing the same things wouldn't give me the joy as they did this time. So I would say, Grow Up, most certainly do. But don't procrastinate joy!