As children, we all look forward to our birthdays every year with so much anticipation. With the innocence of a child who has not been exposed to the harsh realities of the world, we wonder what gifts we will receive; whether we will really get the gift we have been wanting for so long, will there be cake and a party? The questions and the anxiousness is never ending. With certain birthdays come certain milestone events that make the birthday even more special. For example, most people in the US can not wait for their 16th birthday as they know they will get their license after they turn 16; for girls this milestone birthday holds even more significance. Then comes one’s 18th birthday and with it comes the realization that you are now an adult; never mind the fact that one still has the mentality of a teenager. Then arrives 21st birthday; the day when one has all the rights associated with adulthood including getting legally drunk.
Somewhere after this 21st birthday, we start becoming indifferent towards our birthdays. We no longer look forward to it with anticipation; on the contrary, the excitement of the child eagerly awaiting the day is replaced with a dread. The only thing we have in common with the child of our youth is wondering how we will change after this birthday. As a child, one assumes that turning a year older will give us more maturity and intelligence than our friends who have not yet caught up with us in age. As an adult, we worry how turning another year older will change us. I, for one, was not looking forward to turning 27. There was no logical reasoning for this except that I found 26 to be the perfect age: not too young and not too old. I absolutely dreaded turning 27. I remember that a few days after my 27th birthday, the realization arrived that this is no different than being 26.
How and when do we loose that childhood innocence of looking forward to birthdays and become so indifferent? What causes this extreme change in us? Is it because we realize that birthdays are nothing but another day in the year? All of this makes me wonder who is better off: the child who perceives the world with a rosy glow of innocence or us adults who perceive the world with a cautious attitude? Is growing up worth the indifference we adapt towards the simple pleasures of life? I hope not because everyone should look forward to their birthdays with the anticipation of a child where birthdays equal cake and presents. Wouldn’t life be grand if we all approached it like this?
2 comments:
Joy begins to die when people start giving clothes, instead of toys, as presents.
Buy me some Gi-Joes and watch me bring apocalypse on your local park with sandbox.
So, that is the secret. Hell, if I knew that toys were all that was required to feel like a child, I would have never stopped giving them as presents.
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