This post has the ability to reach many people, just try to answer the question I'm asking right now... To all the grown-ups - Do you ever feel like becoming a child again? To all the kids - Ever want to grow up? And, finally, to all the teenagers - Aren't both the questions applicable to you?
This revelation here is not at all surprising. I am a teenager, and I can say that sometimes we want to go back in time and become once again, a baby - for there is no homework, no tension for how much you're going to achieve... you don't know what a tight schedule is, at all! At the same time, we want to just transform into an adult... Oh! College! That way no one can command you, you are your own dictator, free to do what you want to. All of us want this, right? We want to travel back in time, go further in it, but we just don't want to be where we are. Don't all of us think it'd be fun?
How very wrong we are.
This announcement may have turned you yellow in the face, or you may have fended it off, thinking, BS. But it's actually true. I have read the views of many grown-ups who want to go back to school and live those care-free (!) days again. I myself have made some observations.
Every May and June, we get to stay at home for the holidays. This doesn't exempt our parents from working, however. There're no summer holidays when you grow up, just the weekend in between. Quite the opposite, eh?
Now, imagine being an adult. Not in school, in the real world. You're working, and every day is a test, harder than before. You can't fail... one mistake and people can die - whether you're a doctor, an engineer, a chef - anything! I can't think of living with such a tremendous weight upon my shoulders!
Added to that, is your family. If, suddenly, you fail and lose your job. There's a low income and big family. How are you going to fulfill their expectations? Keep them happy so you're happy? An answer to all these questions will be able to quench my thirst.
As for the perks of being grown-ups... I think that once you're an adult, you can work in a field which interests you, and not forced to uptake every single subject, as long as you take the right decision. Even hard work is fun once you're doing something you're interested in.
Once you're old, so many options open and age limits close their doors - you can do whatever you want, no restriction! Full-on river rafting? Go on, you're of age! Vote for the elections? Your welcome!
I've often heard people say never to point out the mistakes of the adults - they're older than you, you don't have the right to correct them. Well, aren't they as much human as we are, capable of committing mistakes? That's as much of a perk as it is a whim, isn't it? THINK!
Now, now, enough of being grown-up. The time has come for the adults to ponder - are the teenagers' lives in present-day conditions as easy as they once were?
Well, sadly, there has been a humongous change. Earlier, the kids weren't that busy... no holiday homework, no project to be submitted every single week, no C.C.E., in short... Now, our life is a constant struggle between what we want to do and what people expect us to do. If my passion is writing, I often get advised to keep it as a side-profession. Why? Too risky. Well, only if I am fully devoted to my profession, will I be able to excel in it, isn't it?
When you're old, the first step towards your career is already taken. However, if you're my age, you'll get to know that most people around us think that career is the one and only thing which matters in life and no effort should be made for anything else. I fail to see the point.
Added to this stress, there's peer pressure. In short, what would people say? Although I'm interested in humanities, if I opt for it, what would people say? Too much focus on your studies, you lose your friends. Concentrate more on your friends, the level of your studies falls.
To summarize, teenage is a mental battle between what's right, what's easy and what's acceptable. There's no chance if you don't fit in.
Perks and whims practically exist everywhere, most prominently in your head. So why don't we just throw them away? Let's just enjoy the present! Who knows? We may just want it back!
