Saturday, April 23, 2011

What happens when you turn 25?



Gee, I'm just a few hours away from officially hitting twenty five. Technically I am already right now, but not really yet- because the morning hasn't cracked and I was born at 10 in the evening  ;-) 

Anyway, this day is not just any lavish excuse to throw a wild birthday party one last time- bidding goodbye to a couldn't-care-less attitude we had in my 20's. Neither is it a ticking time bomb before our youthful glow vanishes; nor a much feared reminder to start ticking items in our bucket list before reaching 30. But why fear when this is actually a point when great transformations are primed to happen. 


Contemplation 


Twenty five is the age of reason where the mind is fully developed to make rational decisions, however, it doesn't make it any easier for us to choose which path to take, as errors in this point will not be as easy to correct as it was 5 years ago.


Maybe going back to school as a 20 year old kid was a decision you would take without even thinking as time is in your hands to exploit, but add another 5 years to the equation and at 25, that option may not exactly be a gamble worth the jackpot. Or say would you stay in a lousy relationship with a person you see no future with? At 20, hope can keep that relationship alive but come 25, the only option is to find more an investment that will provide a better return.


I believe reaching 25 is one of those pivotal moments in our life where we cannot help but reassess how life has been in the past quarter of a century. There comes an expectation for us to fit into the norm. So what would a 25 year old person be committed to at this day and time? We don't want to veer away from 'normalcy' and try to live up to our own and most especially to our family and peer's expectations.


It's the rising point leading to climax at a story plot. Reaching 25 would make you pause, and wonder whether or not the path you are standing at this moment is the still the same direction you want to see yourself 5- 10 years from now.  The more we get older it seems that time is becoming a scarcity and that quality transcends quantity.  


Frustration


10 years ago I couldn't wait to grow up and be one of those adults who ruled the world. I wanted to be a woman of power and become rich, beautiful and successful. Thinking about it now, I realise that it was nothing but a safe aspiration. Yes I had the vision, which is better than having nothing at all, but I had no exact plan for execution.


In my mind, I was driven enough to pursue anything that will come my way, but there was one thing I missed. I was not courageous enough to put into concrete terms what that ‘anything’ is supposed to mean. “Lawyer”, “Accountant”, “Entrepreneur”, “Journalist”, “Dancer” and “Actor” would have filled the blanks and I would have arrive at the same end point of success. 


 Letting Go


I feel as if in a few hours I will be given a life sentence to a prison they call 'real life'-where an attempt to escape is seen as a mortal sin rather than an act of jest and a moment to breathe. So no more games for me? Not entirely, but it probably means playing with calculated risk this time around because the stakes are higher.


I don't want to be the girl who refuses to grow up but I still do want to visit Neverland from time to time. We sometimes have that love-hate relationship with children because they are animated creatures who happened to be brats- but the thing I love most about them (that I want to stay with me) is their sense of wonder!  And with the good comes the bad, thus being mature means letting go of being childish about life: throwing tantrums and non-stop whining!


The next 25 years will be the most productive years ahead of me and I doubt that this is the last time I'll be having such a mid-life crisis. Twenty five is just the beginning of this roll- it's the time when career, family, self discovery and everything else will reach its fullest potential, so the best way to deal with it is to just live and let go!  


3 comments:

  1. Your blog is one of the best blogs I've read. I feel your heart in every post, Kat. Keep us updated here, with your insights that truly make anyone reflect about.

    I agree with you, live more by letting go of anything you don't like in your life, because you don't need them as after our many birthdays, we would just see that those things truly didn't matter and were not important :D

    Mary Kris/Marisse

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  2. great to hear from you. it's nice to get some feedback and have exchanges of insights as well! I am learning from you too. :)

    yeah, birthdays come so we can have a fresh start and if we cannot correct past mistakes then might as well accept them and let go, coz the more you resist the more it persists. thanks again.

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  3. I swear you should be a phillosipher! LOL! Everything you said was so true and raw! I loved it, even though I'm still in my teens!

    beautybarbie16.blogspot.com

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