It’s Time to Grow Up
My style was impeccable as a child.
What’s the first memory that you remember? Like the first thing still imbued in your consciousness from when you were just a toddler?
For me, it was the first time I got a watch that lit up in the dark when I was about 4 or 5. I was so in love with that thing to the point where one day when we returned from grocery shopping, my dad was carrying the heavy groceries up the stairs to our apartment. As he unlocked the door and was about to turn the light on, I screamed at the top of my lungs begging him not to turn it on just so I could see my watch light up just once. Being the patient man he is, he let me light it up, I giggled like an idiot, and then he turned on the lights all while still carrying the grocery bags (what an absolute champ).
When that memory revisited me a few days ago, I started reminiscing about my childhood and recounting my life. The good times, the bad times, and the confusing times to try and make sense of it all. It feels like yesterday that I was a careless kid begging my mom to take a break from my math homework so I can watch the new episode of my favorite anime.
Fast forward two decades later.
I am now a 25-year-old man, currently pursuing a master’s degree, and still watching my favorite anime (some things never change, huh?). But there is one major difference I noticed while growing up:
Time seems to go faster as we grow older.
At first, I thought I was insane and that it was all just in my mind…until I was vindicated by this article. It turns out that time does go by faster the older we get. Although I don’t get the science behind it, I did notice that my life started to go on a full sprint once I hit adolescence.
Gone are the carefree days when my biggest worry in the world was making sure I aced the test to get an A in the class. Now, I have to actually work, learn how to cook, do laundry, change my car’s oil, and…checks notes… book my own doctor appointments?! 🤮
It feels like everyone tells you to enjoy your youth while it lasts. They say that these years are going to be some of the best in your life and they will never happen again.
Unfortunately, we young people are plagued with short-sightedness that stops us from understanding that these years are not going to last forever. Soon our metabolism will slow down, our knees will pop like fireworks, and going upstairs will feel like a workout. It’s not until our youth is over that we finally realize how quickly it went by and how we didn’t get the chance to enjoy or make the most of it, despite our elders’ best efforts to warn us about it.
Now I definitely wouldn’t say my youth is completely over yet, but I am right on the cusp. The mid to late twenties are characterized by having some friends in my age group who are happily married, own a house, and going on their third kid—while there are others who are mentally still stuck in high school. I fall somewhere in between where I can manage a budget and do the basic adulting duties, but find it impossible to decide on what I want for breakfast and happen to still find poop jokes funny.
I am still, and forever will be, flabbergasted by how fast I went from being a carefree child to almost ready to raise one of my own. Now, I’m at a point where I need to begin prioritizing my life and starting good habits that will set me on the right path to building the life I always dreamed of.
While It’s easy for us to go with the flow of life and forget everything else just to try and keep up with it, I’d argue that it’s just as important to take a moment and reflect on how far we came and all the experiences we have seen along the way. They shape us into who we are today and prepare us for the rocky path that our lives will take us on.
Although I will miss my childhood and the naïve innocence that allowed me to enjoy life’s smallest pleasures, I believe I’m finally ready to put my big boy pants on and face the challenges the world has in store for me.
So, as much as I hate to say it — it’s time to grow up.
