A couple of days ago, I got to see the newly-recruited crew of that student NGO I
used to work with (I had the best time of my life working with that NGO by the
way :)). Anyway, I
scanned those young faces hoping to find a recognizable one but it was just in
vain; they all looked new to me. They looked all ebullient with joy all over
their faces but still, those joyful faces looked new to me!! Looking at those
young joyful faces, I got overwhelmed with “a” feeling. Actually, I still don’t
know what that feeling was; you can call it an indescribable feeling or
whatever but that doesn’t change the fact that I was
overwhelmed. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean I’m oblivious of the reason behind
that “indescribable” feeling; I’m actually so aware of it. I mean, thinking of
how dynamic life is is so fascinating. One year, I was working in that place
with a group of passionate people & the next year, a new generation takes
over with even more passion that we happened to have… Just fascinating!!
All overwhelmed with eyes on the verge of welling up, I thought
about sharing this moment with a couple of my friends. Well, one of them
completely understood how I felt, she actually was as overwhelmed as I was or
even more!! The other one…well, let me tell you that what she told me is
actually the main reason why I’m writing this right now. She told me with poise all over her face that it
was so normal for me not to recognize any of these faces; this newly-recruited
crew is actually crammed with freshmen & sophomores with a little minority
of juniors & seniors and as you know I’m an…old veteran!! She looked at me
& continued: “Nada, did you forget?! We’re the eldest amongst all those
surviving students!! Nada, we’ve grown old!!”
Although I was totally aware of that fact, her words descended upon
me like a bomb. At that moment, I realized that when it comes to the fact that
it’s time for us to get promoted from being “young adults” to “adults”, I’m
completely in denial. I mean, how on earth am I supposed to surrender to that
off-putting social convention that assumes I’m not as young as I used to be
when I joined uni while I actually feel the same deep down in my heart &
soul?! Yes, I know that with being on the verge of graduating & getting
involved in what they call “the real life”, I need to be much more responsible
than I used to be. I know that & I totally respect it but that doesn’t mean
I can’t have my share of fun, act recklessly every once in a while or hit the
amusement park; for God’s sake, I’m only 21!!
You know what, all I’m cordially asking is not to be told that I’ve
grown old every second. You know why…cause I’m NOT old; I’m still young &
I’ll be young as long as my heart & soul are young. I’ll be young as long
as I’m feeling young. I’ll be young no matter what my birth certificate or my
national ID says. And here I am conveying this message to every fellow senior student…
“Buddy, don’t you ever let anybody make you feel old when you still feel young
inside. Don’t you ever let anybody take your youth away. Don’t you ever let
anybody kill the youngster inside you. And proudly remember…you’re a senior
& you’re young” :)