Silent Knocks of Reality...

Of Age & Mixed Emotions

Painting By: Michael Lang

A busy day it had been and the excitement and anxieties of a change that was about to take place the next day engulfed me to exhaustion, my clock was ticking. 

When everything was calm, I whispered a prayer and finally tucked myself under the covers. I don’t quite remember as a teenager if I had ever imagined what it would be or feel like hitting the quarter century mark, but I can remember vividly when I graduated from campus setting goals on what I would have loved to achieve by this age. 
As a youth, I had set my expectations quite high; being part of a generation that’s constantly thinking about success and progressing as fast as they deserve, the space keeps growing smaller and the pressure to become somebody beckoning. Fast is less of a virtue now and more of a lifestyle.

Yesterday one of my friends was marking another year in his birthday calendar and so as it is the norm, I passed across my goodwill message. However, part of his reply reflects the case for many young people; he explained that birthdays can sometimes create both a happy and a low feeling in equal measure, happy in the sense that it’s a blessing from God to experience a new year while the lows (in his own words) are experienced when you had set personal achievements or targets but you fall short.         

I have always enjoyed the transition of age, I still do; with each transition comes celebration, thanksgiving and joy as we knock on the door that opens up to a new chapter of our lives. I have however realized with time that it’s easier celebrating one’s birthday as a child than as a youth. 
There’s a tremendous amount of pressure put on you when you’re in your twenties, so much is expected of you in every aspect of your life. You want to succeed in your relationships, your jobs, your finances, all before you hit a certain age.

Here I was marking a milestone in my twenties the best yet the most difficult age for most people. It's that time when you get to develop a sense of independence, try to maintain stability in your career, explore the dating scene, or travel the world. On the other hand, it's a time often characterized by crises, failures, relationship misadventures, and a sense of uncertainty about whom we are and where we are headed. In other words with every transition your success is judged by what you achieved in the preceding year.

When the party is over, and you find yourself curled up in a corner clouded by thoughts and anxieties, know that these emotions are pretty common and I guess they typically pass with time as you hit adulthood. In worst cases one can plunge into depression, begin to believe they won’t ever achieve anything, trying to figure out why everyone else seems happy and ahead of them and so they slowly shut down.

Photo Courtesy

Most if not all of us have an opinion about hitting a specific age that we dread so much and therefore work tirelessly to achieve everything we promised ourselves we would before then. This can be a freaking rollercoaster.

Take time to find yourself and your passion; avoid social pressure and setting unrealistic expectations. You get wiser with age, step out of your comfort zone and understand that sometimes it doesn’t all go as planned and that’s okay.   

...Mathew 6:25 - 34