It took me precisely 24 years to understand a few things about life and I guess I’ll learn a few more things about life in another 24 years, if only I’ll not die of global warming!
I’m always excited when it comes to meeting new people but to be honest, after a few hours or after a few minutes of meeting them, I just feel like running away from my social animal mode and get back to my room.

My room, it’s like my world where I feel like I’m the queen (dramatic enough). I love my room no matter how messy it is, with the bedsheet that always has a stain of coffee which I spill every night unintentionally. A room where I can be me. Where I can wear my faded black top that I bought 5 years ago, keep my hair messy and sit with my legs wide open, basically I can be in a condition in which I would not like any guy to see me because it will take him another lifetime to talk to me again.

I’m not like the girls who would post long messages for their bff’s, I’m not the “love you to the moon and the back” kind of girl. I can’t even hang around or sit with people for more than 2 hours, people whom I claim are my friends. At times when I realise all this, after taking a break from stalking people on Instagram and cribbing about how pathetic my life is by comparing it to the people I hardly know and of course after reading my big fat medical science books , a question always arises in my mind- Am I mature enough?

I hate more than a half dozen of people, I’m socially awkward, still stuck somewhere in the past, still not getting over it at the age of 24! Am I an immature person?

Well this question crossed my mind several times, especially after reading an article on maturity that quoted “maturity is learning to walk away from people and situations that threaten your peace of mind, self-respect, values, morals and self-worth.” I have grown up hearing from my pals, teachers and parents that at one point of time we all need to get mature. And I never understood what maturity is in real! Is Running/walking away from a situation maturity, like that article states? Is it? Really? How does walking away make one mature?

In my quest of understanding what maturity is all about, I started observing people. I talked with almost everyone I know and trust me this is against my nature. I talked to people who were tagged mature by other people or themselves but what I found out was, that everybody, almost everybody is still stuck somewhere in their past.

I don’t know why but I’ve been lucky, because no matter how much I’m confined in myself, people always count on me when it comes to sharing something very personal about their lives and I really respect that.

Recently I met a friend of mine, after 3 or 4 years I guess, initially we talked about what is going on in our lives and everything general after which she started talking about the girl she used to hate during school and then she kept on talking about it until I asked the waiter to get the bill, I was bored of course. She’s a grown up, employed, independent girl, and having an amazing life but instead of talking about the good part of her life now, she is still stuck in past, having the same opinion about the girl she used to hate, unaware of how and where is she now!

Same was the case with everyone I met, talking about the same old things that I’ve had heard at least 9 or 10 times and when done, the only thing left to do was, taking selfies!!

My point is, with time we might physically walk away from people and situations that broke us, but we forget to walk away from the pain, the hurt inside and every time when you meet someone you can talk to, it comes out, no matter how mature you were to walk away!!

So maturity according to me is not walking away, it is to deal. Deal with the people and situations that threaten your peace of mind, facing it then and there, and boldly accepting it.
Maturity is a healing process. You shouldn’t run when your wound is bleeding, you need to sit, seek help and take the aid for the wound to heal.

Healing might leave a scar but it doesn’t pain later.

If it’s still paining, the wound isn’t healed, because you didn’t wait, you just ran away.

To get the picture more clear let’s take an example of pickle. It has too many ingredients in it, and doesn’t really tastes good when you eat it on the very first day, you need to give it time, for all the ingredients to mix up and for the pickle to get mature and only then it gives you that mouth-watering tangy taste. Yes, pickles gets mature too, so I guess it’s not that difficult for the homosapiens, with great brain function to be mature.

No matter how good you’ve been, cold winds will always blow, you have to face the good and the bad as well, it is inevitable. Good and bad, both the phases are like different ingredients of a pickle, you just have to give it time, for having a life with rich taste.

Maturity is about acceptance, it’s about boldness, bold enough to speak what has hurt you, it’s about understanding that we are human beings, we will do wrong to ourselves and others, and so will other people do to you. Forgiving first and forgetting later is key to unlock the maturity in you.

Go and share, be it good or bad

But do not hang on to it, for too long,

Because,

As the Good has passed away,

So will be the bad.

Don’t run, don’t walk away, just patiently wait, my dear friend.

For life is a beautiful journey,

Why not give your tale a happy end!

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