Growing Up- 6

I turn eighteen today. Officially, it means I'm done growing up. The future of the conutry can be decided by me through me vote. My parents can't do anything if I run away from home. I can even get married if want to; I'll just have to find a twenty-one year old guy to marry.

But truth be told, I don't feel any different from last year. It's not like you go from child to abult the moment you turn eighteen. Growing up is more of a process, as you can see in the following pictures:

Me as the youngest member of the family

On my annaprasan (the ritual in which I was given solid food for the first time after six months of birth)

There was a time when I fit into my paternal grandmother's arms.

My favorite baby picture from when I was a year old.

Independence Day in pre-school. My first crush is somewhere in the picture.

Swimming lesson in pre-school. I didn't learn anything though. I'm the one in blue, staring straight at the camera.

Starting out as a cultural explorer.

The beautiful waterfall doesn't take away from the striped trousers.

Okay, I admit, I was kind of cute in spite of the bad hair days and weird clothes.

Don't be fooled by the Science journals. I wasn't much of a student five years ago.

At home, in 2011.

I'm way too big to be hold by my grandmother now.

Now, years of experience have taught me some things:

1. No matter what you do, you're going to think of it as immature and embarrassing a few years down the line. But still, you may not exactly regret what you put yourself through.

2. You're probably never going be thin enough or pretty enough for yourself.

3. Once you set out to do something, you're going to have to live with it. Nothing's as short term as it seems. This can derail you from the path you originally wanted to take. Remember 'Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost?

4. You may be turning into your mom. Pressures may be mounting up. Your skin may look really bad. But if you're growing up, you should know it's a rare thing. A lot of people spend their lives as arrested adolescents, so you have something rare.

5. In the words of Ann Brashares, one of my favorite writers- 'Growing up sucks, but it's better than the alternative'.



So that concludes my growing up series, but hopefully, it doesn't conclude growing up because I have always felt prouder of what I became than what I once used to be. Wish me luck, because I think the real growing up begins now.