You can sniff it from miles away. You can envision yourself running in the opposite direction. You are not one of those people who likes getting older.
I am exactly five days away from turning 25. In my head, it is quite the milestone. I have been working for a few years and evading the ‘when are you getting married’ question with the swiftness of a jedi. I have had two relationships and I have been single for a year, ‘trying to find myself’. There is a depressing realization. I have been living, breathing, surviving in this world for a quarter of a century – what the heck have I even done?
Even my vocabulary is beginning to sound a bit off now. Here are a few words that mean different when you turn 25.
1. Savings
In your mid-20s, you think you are doing the best you can but my friend you can do so much better. Your savings are now the need of the hour because wouldn’t you want to take your parents on a trip, finally? Savings are important because you know that you pay almost half your salary in rent and living expenses and if there is an emergency, asking your family to bail you out shouldn’t be your best option.
But when it comes to being your own cheerleader, the book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is a good place (Rs 111) to start.
2. Commitment
Ah! The good ol C-word. You are running out of patience with this daft dude who has asked you out on umpteenth dates (where you have split the bill like two grown ass adults, of course) and then gone on to have drunken sex with but when you ask him the ‘what are we?’ question he vanishes on you like a Ferrari on a race course.
3. Romance
You are well past that cliched-idea of someone swooning you off your feet and whispering sweet nothings into your ear as you fall asleep. You want something functional. Like someone who shares your love for travel and is more than happy to have pizza in bed on a Friday, instead of partying the night away.
4. Work
No more the doe-eyed intern or trainee who is willing to work overtime for the bare minimum pay. You know your worth and you know what you bring to the table as a professional. My friend, you have come so far and that’s definitely something to be proud of.
5. Hangover
Passing out at a frat party is not cool anymore. You’d rather head home after having a couple of drinks with your friends, to ‘keep up with the Kardashians’ before retiring for the night. Holding your alcohol, and waking up fresh as a daisy is a feeling that you hold very close to your heart!
6. Fitness
Adulting comes naturally to you by now, but just this once you were late to catch your flight and somehow you boarded it after heaving, panting and running across the airport like a person out on parole. You joined the dots soon enough to get an annual gym membership and promising yourself to have a healthy lifestyle.
These stylish pair of Sketchers sneakers (Rs 5,699) are perfect for your morning runs!
7. Mornings
There was a time when you used to be up till wee hours of the morning binging on your favourite shows and then sleeping until the evening. That doesn’t quite work for you anymore, mornings are now your most productive hours, and you want to seize the day, the best way you can (maybe even on weekends).
This adorable coffee cup (Rs 295) will get you raring to go even on the laziest mornings.
8. Friends
You really don’t have the patience or energy to be in touch and make plans with every person that you might have befriended through your life. A few special handful that have managed to be with you through thick or thin have far superseded the realms of a friendship… they are family now.
This funny poster (Rs 500) will have you in splits in no time.
9. Social Media
Every minuscule moment of the day is not documented, every plate of food is not shot before having it, you do take selfies but not that often. Social media is a way to be in touch with friends, catch up with what’s happening around the world and just voice yourself when you feel strongly about something.
10. Adulthood
Not a distant dream anymore. You are living your adult years in real-time and it has begun to dawn on you that you are utterly, completely responsible for yourself and your actions. But don’t worry, it is not all downhill from here. We are all in this together and life only keeps getting bigger and better.
