A happier place

I’ve always thought a person feels older when they’re around people who are younger than them. I thought that’s the way it was supposed to work – when you hang around older people, you feel much younger and much less mature than everybody else. Just today, a new friend of mine said that he feels younger when he spends time with young people, and older when he hangs out with his other older relatives. That led to an argument or rather, a discussion of our conflicting ideas. I had never thought about it that way. But, now that I think of it, he’s right, isn’t he? When I spend time with a bunch of people who are older than me, I probably involuntarily change my mannerisms and behaviour to fit the norms of the group. I can’t behave the same way as I do with friends my own age. I can’t make strange noises, funny faces, say crazy things and generally be mad. I can’t have the same conversations. I automatically grow older and behave in a more mature manner without even realizing it, although the whole time I’m internally grappling with the fact that I’m so much younger than the group. When I spend the day reading out stories to my 4 year old sister or watching The Lion King with my 8 year old brother, it’s probably the opposite story. I don’t think it’s hard for me to turn into a kid when I’m with them. In fact, I think that comes quite naturally to me and I genuinely enjoy their company. I love being a kid more than anything else, probably because in a kid’s world, there aren’t any responsibilities and the world is just a happy place with fun people and of course, chocolate. But l always remember how much older than them I am and it makes me wish I was younger and the world only consisted of family, friends, school, summer holidays, badminton, story books and again, chocolate.

This friend also said that when you’re younger, you tend to be so much more creative. He said it’s extremely important to always feel young. The world and it’s horrible, cruel system with this web of manipulative people haven’t yet gotten the best of you when you’re young. You’re still happily oblivious to the outside world. I think you can be the most creative when you’re happy, although I’ve learnt that happiness can mean different things to different people. I may have been happier as an oblivious child, but that doesn’t mean everybody was. I don’t ever want to be caught in the web of adulthood. Adulthood, growing up, becoming mature – it’s all a trap, I’m sure of it. I may be growing up and learning the ways of the world but I don’t think I want to. I want to always keep that oblivious, happy, crazy child in me alive – the child that only sees the good in the world.