Rule #115: As you grow older, you will realize that there are a lot more things you’ve yet to learn.

If you were wondering how was my birthday, it was great the fact that I celebrated it in school with my homework! Kudos to myself. Well, I did not want to have any big celebration, really. It seems like birthdays start to lose their luster as we grow older. Strange, isn’t it? The day before, I had great family dinner at Suntec. Although I see them almost every day at home, it’s still nice to go out together. Alhamdullilah! Call me boring or anything mean because I am absolutely over the whole partying life. Not that I was very involved in socialising events, but let’s just say, I have experienced a couple of times or more and I don’t really fancy them. Don’t get me wrong- I have nothing against people who party all the time. Avoiding activities like that is just one of the principles that I’ve been working on for almost a year now and Insya’Allah I will always stick to it. If any time you catch me doing all that, reminders are appreciated!:)

I’m still philosophizing about life. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to grow older and how different my perception of age is at home compared to what is the norm here. Thinking deeply about matters has somehow shaped who I am. As quoted by Imam Ali(as), “Keep your thoughts cleaner than pure water. As water drops make a river, thoughts make character and faith.” I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear growing up because that meant being responsible and the only example of responsibility I was familiar with meant worrying about not having enoughmoney and working oneself to death.

To be frank, I tend to subconsciously judge people’s maturity by their age. However, my continuous exposure to human being of different ages seems to suggest otherwise. Age ain’t nothing but a number. Mind over matter, right? Some people can be 23 and still act like 16 or vice versa. My age and I are not in sync, too. Perhaps I have always been told that I don’t act like my age. Sometimes, I feel that I have outgrown most people. But then again, I don’t want to be too proud of myself as I am a flawed human being just like everyone else and I have a lot- and I mean A LOT- of growing up to do.

I am another year older, and hopefully a year wiser.

♡ ♡ ♡
Nadiah Latiff