Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional...

I used to be very complacent about my possessions, till I lost a very precious cellphone. Nothing much has changed now, I'm just as careless as ever, with the exception that now when something goes missing, I immediately think it's gone for good.

I used to trust people implicitly, till a lot of little incidents made me a lot more wary.

I thought death was a remote and strange thing, till I saw someone dying in front of my eyes. Now every death I hear of makes me pause and think of all those involved and their pain.

You're not scared of fire, till you get burnt.

You think money grows on trees, till it runs out.

You thik promotions are inevitable, till you see yourself getting passed by, time after time.

And when these things happen, you go out and buy an insurance policy, you install an alarm system, you don't walk out after dark and you keep a stock of bandaids in your purse. You adjust your optimism to reality.This is what growing up is all about. The knowledge that things can go wrong.

Age should not be counted in time, but in crises faced. I know of 30 years olds who are unbelievably childish. I know of kids who are 7 years, going on 50.And with each crises faced, you start living a little less. You go out in the morning, knowing that a hundred different things can go wrong. They say that pain that is expected is much worse than that catches you unawares. When you play, you try not to scrape your knees. You stop laughing from the heart. And you miss the rainbow, because you are looking at the slush caused by the rain.

There are some who never learn. Who refuse to accept that reality is very different from their rosy dreams. That life, somehow, will conform with their dreams. These are the people who annoy everyone else by their naivete. The friend who always falls for the wrong guy, and them comes crying to you. Those who never study, but are surprised when they fail.And yet, there are those who know and acknowledge reality, but never let it limit their experience of life. These are the people who will lock their door at night, but do not live in the dread of being burgled. It is said that the fear of dying does not keep you from dying, it keeps you from living.

It is the state of mind that makes life worthwhile. Things will go wrong, and while I will prepare for it, I will not stop living because of it...

'Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional'..