Wistful youth

When I grow up, I want to be a little boy.
I saw this line somewhere quiet a while ago, and it has since been stuck snugly in my mind. I have always wondered why some friends are so eager to grow up and experience how adulthood is like. Personally, I would rather stay young and appreciate the wonders of youth.

Ah, the wonders of youth! We didn't have to make important decisions and could, instead, allow chance to dictate our lives. We could spend our time in wasteful sloth without a care for the world, as we lie comfortably in the knowledge that there are a thousands 'tomorrow's ahead of us to get things done. We would rebel and challenge entrenched traditions just because youth provides a convenient excuse of doing so. Youth means forgetting the past, hanging on to the present and overlooking the future.

Alas, the thousands 'tomorrow's have finally arrived, and we are now quasi-adults. Not there yet, not that independent yet, and perhaps, most importantly, not that matured yet. Even then, we are confronted with difficult decisions that potentially shape our future selves. NS. Universities. Jobs. No longer is the safety net of the school there to cacoon us in blissful passivity.

Change is imminent. We are all changing now as we learn to adapt to our new experiences. Who will we be in 2 years time? Will this different person be the kind of person I would look up to? Or will he or she be so characteristically different that you can no longer recognize yourself?

We have to set our own paths. Whether it is straight, windy, narrow or wide will depend on the kind of decisions we make.

I just wish it didn't have to be so soon.