The Grown Ups.

I was talking to a very good friend the other day and she said something that startled me- 'I don't believe in the concept of besties, that's such a childish idea.' That might shock some of you. Not just the idea that she doesn't believe in besties, but the idea that it's a childish concept! I mean commmmon, can you imagine your life without a bestie in it? I certainly can't. And the funny part is, I know her really well, and I know for a fact that she does in fact, have three solidly SOLID besties that she spends almost every waking moment with.

So the problem with it was the label? Calling a spade a spade?

Like I said, the most astounding part for me was that she claimed that it was childish, a concept that was really only till 'like class 4 or something'. 

My mouth hung open. While some may consider it childish, upon further reflection, I can only stretch to think of it as 'child-like'. And really, with the kind of magic there is in child-like imagination or thought or ideas, I can't imagine why people wouldn't want to have more of it.

As I grow older, I'm realising more and more that growing up essentially means belonging to a restrictive group of people- 'the cool group' that isn't immature. That group that does grown up things like dissing the concept of birthday parties, and bragging (yes, really, bragging) about how romance is for the fools.

Why do we get more cynical with every year that passes, although we discover so many new things everyday? Why, as a race, do we get more pessimistic with every birthday that goes by? And worst of all, why do we insist that people around us should be exactly that way, otherwise quickly damning them to the childish/immature bracket? 

The bewildering question is- why on earth does being a grown up mean that we lose our ability to dream of good things, to have faith in stuff and/or lose all sense of imagination?

I'm turning 27 in a couple of days and the one thing I'm damned sure about is that I never want to lose my sense of wonder. It'll be my one wish when I blow my birthday candles this year (if the birthday cake is too childish for you, too bloody bad- deal with it :P ).