As a child, I wondered how long I had to wait till I was old enough to make certain decisions myself and have my own space without being judged by my parents or siblings.
I was eager to learn more about life and it was taking so long (back then) before I could actually be the grown-up I had always wanted to be. I know now that life is in stages and we just have to enjoy and make proper use of whatever phase we find ourselves. Growing up is like a present, you never really know what it entails until you get rid of the wrappings.
Childhood Memories
I remember making some promises to my future self, I never liked flowing with the norm so I told myself once I'm old enough I'd break every rule meant to make me align to a certain way of life and make sure I had loads of fun while doing it. One of those things was to stay up later than usual. Growing up, we had a bedtime routine and once it's 10pm everyone was expected to be on their beds.
I never liked this, I always wanted to see late night movies and stay up until I was exhausted but my parents weren't cooperative. Sometimes I'd sneak out to the sitting room to watch TV but turn down the volume to the minimum level. I enjoyed breaking the rules until I was caught red-handed...
Teen Years
Life as a teenager living in Lagos had its ups and downs. There was a whole lot of exposure at school, church, and that was the beginning of social media for me. At fifteen, I was addicted to telenovelas, I believed love was the picture painted by these series. I had this idealistic way of thinking until reality sunk in.
The Transition
Moving from adolescence into a young adult can be very confusing. One minute you're a teenager trying to pass junior WAEC, the next you're in your third year in the university sourcing for a project topic. It happens so fast that sometimes you hardly notice any kind of difference in the former and present you. Although there might be a slight difference physically and in the social circles you're in, the major disparity is your way of thinking, your perspective towards things and people.
Looking back I know for sure that I'm entirely different from the person I was at eighteen, this makes me realize the beauty of evolving and becoming a fully grown woman, who's functionaland intentional.
The growing process continues, the process of unwrapping the present you never can tell what to expect. Sometimes the disparity between our aspirations and accomplishments might be useful in the future, we never can tell what it will bring. Nevertheless, we need to be expectant, everyone has a reason for existing, our journeys are peculiar to our kind. Personally, I looked forward to adulthood but now I miss being a child, unhinged, innocent, trusting and believing.
Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self some things I know now, but that's not possible. In fact, every encounter in life's journey was meant to be exactly the way it turned out, going back will alter what is. I cherish every moment, the mistakes inclusive, it's a part of my story and what makes me who I am. The lessons learnt are priceless, the people, places, situations are all chapters in one's history.
Getting Old
I was a bit skeptical about getting old, but now I know better. It's something worth looking forward to, your experiences would shape you into a witty elderly person. There's a Yoruba adage that says "What an elderly person sees while sitting, a younger person will not be able to see the same thing even if he/she climbs an Iroko tree".
Although this is subject to some opinions in this day of modern information and communication technology. I daresay it still holds, because experience is still the greatest teacher, it doesn't matter if it's personally or you learnt from the experiences of others. We should be willing to learn, unlearn and relearn certain things that are important to survive as humans in today's world.
Growing up remains an integral part of our existence, getting old is inevitable. We should just aspire to do it gracefully with lots of love from our families and loved ones.
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