Growing Up

You know you’re growing up when:

• You start going out with your friends
• You start having crushes
• Your mean and not-so-nice boy neighbor suddenly became attractive.
• Having pimples is now an issue
• You carry a pack of oil-blotting paper in your bag
• You can’t go out without a bag!
• You now have a kikay kit.
• The usual 5-minute shower time is now just spent taking off your clothes and looking at the mirror. 
• You have a closet full of clothes but it will take you a long time choosing what to wear.
• You feel like your problems take on a whole new level! You start feeling like you carry the whole world on your own. 
• You get your heart broken.
• The people around you start growing up too. Your parents start having gray strands and health issues. Some of your relatives die because of aging, and no matter how hard you pray to prolong their life, it won’t. 

Growing up isn’t as easy as we thought it would be. It’s not just about the changes—physical appearance, personality and attitude. It’s also about the acceptance. Acceptance of the fact that the people we love are also bound to these changes. They also grow up. They grow old, and eventually they will soon leave and we have nothing to do about it. We have to accept the fact that nothing in this world is permanent. Maybe that’s one of the most difficult truths about life—people come and go, and all we have to do is to accept.