Growing up. It seems funny doesn't it, that in just one day, you grow an year older? And when you revisit your childhood it just doesn't feel the same because you have changed.
Ever tried re-watching your favourite cartoons? You now realise that Nobita's voice was being dubbed by a girl. Or maybe took a walk on the park and decided to slide but the thrill was missing.
Ever found yourself scrolling through your old birthday pictures, smiling the same wild and goofy smile but realising how insignificant and small your recent birthday was? Things didn't actually change but your perspective did. All your innocence is lost, simple words and sentences have double meanings you never understood as a 9 year old. Parties and friends give you more happiness than family night. Sometimes when life gets hard though, childhood is what you remember and crave for.
Life is so different now. There's no time to stop and watch cartoons. Exams are coming up. I don't have time to watch cartoons. I don't have time to see my friends. I don't have time to meet my cousin who has come after years. I don't have time to eat. I don't have time to sleep. I don't even have time to breath. Because I have grown up now, I have a burden over my shoulder.
You used to be that extrovert friend, always laughing, never serious. Never afraid. But look at you tonight, your friends are outside partying, and you are lying down on your beanbag reading the same old book for the 100th time. You don't care if it's your birthday. You don't feel like talking to anyone. You "grew up" and you lost yourself in the process.
Basic meaning of growing up:
So. What changed? People say "I grew up". But grew up out of what? Being happy about small things? Respecting adults? Finding drinking and smoking "bad habits"? Frowning when someone curses? The point is, we don't just "grow up". We change, and it's not always in a positive manner. Growing up does not mean that you lose yourself. It does not mean to burden yourself. "You're an adult now" is
a synonym for "sacrifice your happiness". You can still cry, you can still be happy about little things and you can still enjoy swings and cartoons. Growing up isn't sadness, it's getting through it. Growing up isn't forgetting your childish pranks, it's about making them better. It isn't burden and responsibility, it's just another journey of learning new things. It isn't about losing yourself, it's about finding yourself.
