At 26, life is a lot like our wardrobes, organised in parts
but largely all over the place. It’s that time we realize that childhood has
ditched us and long moved on. Adulthood is like an uninvited guest. It's here,
but we hardly want to acknowledge its presence!
26, is also slightly
confusing. Almost like the sudden commercial break that pops up, while you're
engrossed in the climax of an intense romantic drama on TV. You don't know what
to do when it hits you. It makes you feel empowered and in control of things,
people and situations. You feel, it's your time. You're poised for world
domination. Dreams suddenly seem achievable. And then one day, you cry like a
baby, when your girlfriend / boyfriend break up with you citing
"Compatibility Issues"
It also makes you that much more vulnerable. Vulnerable
because you know you've grown out of being the boy who wanted to party each
weekend but you haven't yet fully grown into being a man who can enjoy a single
malt and a hearty conversation for a Saturday night!
You're independent but still the second signatory to your
bank account after your dad. Your mom trusts the maid over you to get the best
bargain on the monthly grocery shopping despite you acing your dissertation on
contract negotiation in your final semester.
26, it’s a bit like entering the 8th grade in school. It
leaves you puzzled whether to be happy about the transition to trousers or be
sad about the fact that you're still not eligible to be appointed the Head Boy.
It is largely a confusion that arises out of expectations, partly those that
emanate from others, largely the residue of complexities of the ones which are
your own.
The phase, a paradox of emotions, gives you the high of
gloating in your new-found confidence which gets credited with your salary every
beginning of the month. Short-lived though, only to be deflated by the
information that your college buddy who's Haka Noodles lunch you paid for in college,
spends that much on his weeknight out with his office colleagues. His visiting card
carries the logo of the company you've yearned to work for and his assistant
informs you that he's travelling to Cannes / The Oscars to look for good
content when you call his office, while his cell phone is out of coverage area.
A Facebook status update / a pic tweeted by your school
friend whose greatest achievement for life you thought would be graduating
college without an ATKT is surrounded by
ladies on the red carpet. You read on and figure that he's touted to be the
next big thing in Bollywood and his Foursquare update a week later reads ...
"ABC just checked in at Eiffel Tower, Paris" with his moronic smile
bulging out of the picture. This phase has a special talent at making you feel big
one moment and belittling your ego the next!
Adding to that, at 26, you also realize that the world as
you know it, can be divided into 3 kinds of people - 'Engaged', 'To be married'
and 'Newly Married' people. These 3 categories will encapsulate the entire
spectrum of mankind to have ever walked on this planet. Your Facebook timeline
starts resembling a wedding album and the Foursquare check in updates of your
friends could be easily compiled into the list of best honeymoon destinations
around the world.
All your crushes have found their crushes leaving you
crushed. The neighbor who thought you were ‘Cute’ as a kid now refuses to recognize you when you ask for the spare key to your house when parents are
away.
Yes, I know, 26 is a time, that can make you wish the Mayans
were right. It drives you nuts. It personifies insanity. It's insane.
However, it is also special. It’s special because it allows
you the space to discover your true friends, your hobbies and interests, at a
point, discover your true self. It makes you expressive beyond your own
imagination. It sensitizes you in its own unique way to human emotions, the way
you never felt them before.
It makes you realize the importance of family. It makes you realize what it takes to be truly ‘happy’.
It pushes you against the walls. It enables you to nurture and cultivate
responsibility, without thrusting it upon you accidentally. It makes you
stronger without killing you.
While you dance to the song of heartbreak and love, yearning
for the ‘Perfect one’ to be with, you don’t realise that it is this 26, which makes
you a better person. A person your ‘Perfect One’ would love to be with!
