Growing Up- A Sorry Story!

I turned 19 this year. And looking back at my growing up, it would be an understatement to confess that I have been exceptionally lucky, blessed, loved and protected all through life. But, somehow, the whole business of having grown up, in the traditional sense, has left me wanting for more. Left me craving for the days when I was a still a kid, and life was infinitely simpler!

Here are the top 5 reasons staying a kid was way more awesome than this sorry story of growing up!

1 .      Birthdays

Then, only gifts mattered! Now, if someone dear forgets to wish us, nothing else matters! Ironical how we blew our birthday candles, wishing to grow up! So many years worth of wishes, wasted!

2 .      Judgments

Then, the world was neatly bifurcated into black and white, good and bad, happy and sad, friend or foe. It made everything so easy, fitting all of it into water tight compartments. But, now the world is bathed in shades of grey so weird, we forget where we belong!

Then, we knew there would be spring’s sunshine for winter’s fog, a happy surprise for every sad thought! But now, we realize there are no guarantees, and life, despite our best intentions, will always be a risk!

3 .      Relationships

Nobody stared at us when we held hands of people we loved and walked down the streets. We could kiss people on the cheek to tell them how special they were, without embarrassing them. We could hug, without weighing ourselves down with the expectation of being hugged back! Relationships were simple, clear, defined!

As we grew up, relationships grew up, too! Grew up so much that they outgrew labels, and messed it up for us!

4 .      Logic

Kiddie logic is amazing! So, as kids, we knew leaves were green because that is the colour they are supposed to be! But, now, they expect us to know that leaves are green because the science of optics says that they absorb every other colour in the visible spectrum, except green! Things made better sense, when they did not.

5 .      Newspapers

They made for the perfect aircrafts. And the perfect boats to sail in the deliciously water logged streets, post heavy showers.

Grown-ups do not have much use for newspapers, except beginning their day on a despairing note! Grown-ups know paper planes crash. And paper boats sink. Always!

That leaves me with just one question: Why grow up? :)