Episode 2...Growing Young!!

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” :)