
Babies, Tweenies, toddlers, teenagers, grownups, elderly, mid-life crisis, menopause there are so many phases to life but to name a few. The 1st few phases of our lives are the worry free, care free ones where everyone else makes sure that things go as planned and just happen for that matter. After that you sort of start learning some responsibility but that doesn’t stretch much further than budgeting your pocket money. The real challenge starts when you leave school and have to start deciding what you want to do with your life.
I love the phases in our lives and I think every phase should be embraced. I posed the question to a few of my friends all in their early 20’s – “What is the thing you miss the most about being 18?” The answers were interesting; long holidays, always having money, time, freedom, friends, the sexy body you had back then. But I think it’s about more than that. For me it is my “Jelly Baby” that I miss, my proud little green Beetle that got me from A to B – only just, I miss it because for me it is a symbol of that time in my life, I had so much fun breaking down, pushing my car up the hill with friends, I remember the day something caught alight and the car started smoking like crazy in the middle of the Mc Donald’s drive through, the random people that always seemed to stop and offer a helping hand because ‘they also had one of these’ and therefore know how much trouble they can give. I remember working for a year after finishing school to pay of the dept I managed to make driving into someone else on my 18th birthday with no valid license yet. They day I sold her I cried. I inherited her from my gran, it wasn’t a reliable car but it was a fun car, a car that made many memories and has many stories to tell.
My “Jelly baby” phase taught me many things, it taught me that you could rely on people – who always come to save you when you run out of fuel – not my fault the petrol gage was faulty I promise. I learned that you can make any situation better if you look at the funny side of life, yes we broke down, yes we are going to be late, yes they have to tow the car away, but its okay, life is what happens when you making other plans and it is too short to be upset about the things you cant control. She taught me to appreciate things, I am now in my 20’s phase and I drive a nice little car which I wouldn’t have appreciated half as much if I didn’t have to put up with Jelly Baby for 3 years.
So what do you think you will miss about your 20’s when you are in your 30’s was my next question. And again the answers were similar, my weight, me friends, enough sleep, being irresponsible, late nights, no kids. Again I think it is about more than just that, I don’t think I have a Jelly Baby or something that really signifies my 20’s, unless you want to count in uncertainty. But I think there is also some significance to this stage; I think I will miss the unpredictability of my 20’s. At the moment I hate not having a clear cut idea of where my life is heading, or my career, I don’t really know what I want and as much as I hate it I love it because I know in 10 years from now I am going to miss just that. What I want to do today isn’t necessarily what I am going to tell you I want to do tomorrow. I love having the freedom to change my life to any direction I want, I love that I can pack up and backpack through Italy for 3 weeks; I love that I can still stay at home while only working part time and studying. I love that I still share a home with kids, brothers and sisters who I can take my moods out on and fight over the chores with, I love that I can phone my friends at almost any time of the day or night and they don’t mind even if it is just for a little chat. Having cocktails on the couch at Blue Pepper on a Wednesday evening, dressing silly and colorful because I don’t really have to worry about anyone taking me too seriously yet. Eating almost everything I want, not really going to gym and not picking up weight. How about not worrying about the interest rate because I don’t have any dept and my car is paid of (yeh). But I am also looking forward to being I in my 30’s, 40’s 50’s, 60’s, because every phase and stage of your life comes with new ups and down and new possibilities, getting married, financial stability, children, grandchildren. But what about knowing you have that person beside you forever that makes you feel up for anything as long as you have them by your side, family holidays, having a good set routine, a stable income, a set career, stability, a white picket fence whatever it is that picture of yours is made up from.
Every stage in your life comes with so many things that should be embraced and enjoyed, because face it you don’t want to be pushing the car up the hill in your 40’s but wasn’t it fun doing that when you were 19? Embrace every moment because no matter how bad things might seem they will change and then you will have forgotten how difficult certain things were at that stage and you will only remember the good times. Cease the moment and master the art of making them matter, because at the end of the day it is the memories that matter the most.
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