A letter to the world from a guy entering into his 20s

09/09/2019

Dear world,

I wanted to let you know that today, I've completed 21 years of my existence and you have witnessed my transformation from an infant to an adult.

I am writing this letter to you to pour out my heart. In this letter, I'll talk about my life till date and how my 20s is going to be like.

When I was a kid, life was fantastic. It was something like this... Eat....study....play....sleep.... repeat. Plain and simple. No problems, no tension of career, no heartbreaks, no break-ups. Even if I was hurt, I could cry whenever and wherever I wanted (nobody took me seriously back then tho!). I was unaware of what "mentally hurt" actually meant! Whenever I had any problem, my parents were the first to know about that instead of my pillow. Whenever I was angry at someone, I used to show anger. Whenever I didn't like something, I said it as it was. I used to say exactly what was in my mind. I was transparent and innocent. "Diplomacy" and "Decency" were unknown words to me.

If I talk about vacations, I actually played in all those without any worries. My parents used to take almost all of my decisions.

I thought that I could become anything. From a board topper to a rockstar. From a cricketer to an Actor. From a Dancer to an Astronaut. From a Doctor to an Engineer. My imagination knew no limits. Nothing was impossible for me. Because all of my wishes were being fulfilled by my parents, my innocent self believed that whatever we want in life, we can always get it. I didn't have any hardships (read it as "my parents didn't let me know about what hardships they were going through"). After dreaming about all this, my delusional self couldn't wait to grow up and do whatever he had dreamt of.

Then came my teenage life. It was awesome. Beginning of it was like something I never experienced. I started noticing some changes in my thinking pattern. Now, I liked being independent and having control over my decisions. I didn't like my parents' advice and being told what to do. I became a bit rebellious. Being with friends and doing crazy things with them was the things I wanted to do the most. And it had a reason behind it. At that age, we thought our parents didn't understand us properly and moreover, being at the same stage of life, I and my peers were going through the same things. We could understand each others' situations well and thus, we were on the same page.

Early teenage years were all good and fun. But 3-4 years after that, I was burdened with studies. I had some responsibilities now. This period made me realize that "Life is not that easy as I thought it would be". I realized that my parents won't be always there for providing me whatever I wanted. I have to fight and earn what I wanted. I also realized that it's not possible for me to be everything. I learned to see you <the world> for what you were, not for what I wanted you to be. I became more rational. Most of the (unrealistic) dreams I saw in my childhood were now shattered. It was painful but I moved on. So I can say that it was a crucial part of my life which converted me from a kid to a man.

Then I finished my teens and entered into my adulthood. (Yeah, finally that wait of becoming 18+ was over!) I finished school and entered college. Most of the school friends separated to carve their own path of life. Meeting the old friends was hard now which I took for granted in childhood. I felt amazing in the initial days of college. Those new friends, that independence and many things. I met persons from various backgrounds and I was amazed after knowing how different they were from me. I thought that college life will be way better than school life. But unlike school, no one in the college cared whether you attended the lectures or not. It was all your responsibility to study. Nobody spoonfed to you.

Now stress, anxiety, career confusion has become an integral part of my life. I see many young people who are very accomplished and dream of achieving great heights but at the same time, I often doubt my own abilities.

After witnessing the painful realities, sometimes I think that those unrealistic expectations of childhood were far better. Why did I grow up? Isn't there any time machine through which I can go back to my childhood and tell myself that "Hey, don't ever think to grow up. Your childhood is the best part of your life. It's never coming back so enjoy it as much as you can. You probably won't have this much stress free life ever again. Surely, you would have independence but trust me, you would crave for your current life but you won't be able to have it again."

I think the 20s is an interesting phase of anyone's life. The funny thing about my present age is, "I am an adult among the kids and kids among the adults." In other words, I am too old to do childish things but to immature to take any critical decisions. In a few years, I will see many of my friends being settled, getting married and having children, getting their first job and what not. In their 20s, kids are dealing with great pressure of completing their education, getting a job, settling down, finding themselves, exploring different things. If they are single, then they see other couples around them and wish (not all of them) if they were in a relationship, too. It is the age at which kids get to experience the real YOU<world>.

Currently, I have many dreams to achieve. I'm entering into prime time of my life. I'm ready to live the new phase of my life and face the challenges thrown by you. Let's see what you've got for me!


Your guest,
Akshay Brahmbhatt     




If you can relate any of these things, feel free to share your views in the comment box.