About Growing Up

“My best friend gave me the best advice: he said each day is a gift and not a given right.”

-Nickelback

Yesterday, you used to draw the sun in the top corner of the paper.
Today, you are writing the date in the top corner of a job application.
Yesterday, you were friends with everyone at school.
Today, friends have turned into bullies and enemies; love has turned into hatred and envy.

Yesterday, you used to get ten hours of sleep per night.
Today, you are having sleepless nights because of all those thoughts stuck in your head.
Yesterday, your aim was to get grades high enough in order to make your parents proud.
Today, you need those grades to apply to some of the most prestigious universities in the country.

Yesterday, your biggest fear was to not be able to finish your homework.
Today, you are afraid of making the wrong choice and messing your entire future up.
Yesterday, your parents punished you because you broke your mother’s precious vase in the living room.
Today, you get into an argument with them because you lied to them about where you spent your Saturday night.

Yesterday, your dad was the man of your life.
Today, you can only see yourself spending the rest of your days with that special man you met at the pub.
Yesterday, you shut and cover your eyes at the very moment when two lovers are about to kiss in a movie.
Today, you’re now kissing your partner in an almost similar situation than the one you saw once on television..

Yesterday, you are laughing with your best friend at school while looking at a stranger.
Today, that best friend is now a stranger, whereas the stranger from school – whom you never knew existed – is now the one who will always have your back.
Yesterday, you wanted to be the center of everyone’s universe.
Today, you find yourself alongside two close and true friends, who are enough for the rest of your journey.

Yesterday, you thought that everyone would always have your back no matter what.
Today, you fully understand that it is every person for themself.
Yesterday, you hated staying at home, and were desperate to go out every day.
Today, you find yourself content with a chill evening at your place, with no responsibility to assume.

Yesterday, you were too shy to tell someone you love them.
Today, you see them going out with someone else, realizing your chance has faded away.
Yesterday, you used to be the leader of a small group of teenagers.
Today, you see those teenagers have turned into leaders, ready to pay your hard work forward to others.

Yesterday, you would see your mother as the greatest rôle the world has ever witnessed.
Today, you are a mother and an idol to your beloved children.
Yesterday, you could not wait to grow up and have the right to do anything you want with your life.
Today, you are all grown up, yet caged in a prison we call responsibilities.

A final quick tip: life passes within a second.

Everyone grows up so fast, experiencing different phases. One has to make the best out of everything they go through.

Live before you die, because once you grow old, you could never go back to the life you wished would pass faster.