Nineteen, the frosting said.
“Fuck,” I thought as the clock chimed twelve. I believed one stopped aging after eighteen. After stepping into the so called ‘you are on your own from now’ phase of life. And yet, the candle burned brighter than the confusion of excitement and fear in my heart. I cut through the layers of the coffee cake and with each one I was reminded of the years when that chocolate turned to coffee. Like slicing through my teens to reach the very last layer.
Unlike most people, I hate parties. And so, the only party I had planned for the night was with my fictional friends waiting in various worlds. I crave meaning and purpose in life. However, I crave cake even more. So, after savoring a big-azz slice of the sugary dessert, I planned on journalling.
Hey Luna, (I like to name my diary after my favorite characters)
19 things I learnt on turning nineteen-
- ‘Not all who wander are lost’—Wandering=exploring=having the courage to walk on untrodden paths. Just because I haven’t figured out the exact preprinted flowchart of running the code of life doesn’t mean the design of my life is a failure. Wandering is FREEDOM.
- ‘Time is galleons, little brother’—
Fred Weasley can’t be any more accurate. The time is ticking and the world is spinning and there’s not enough time to explore the earth. Most unfortunately, time turners are fictional.
- ‘Revenge is sweet, but ice-cream is sweeter.’- Holly Black
Lots of people would kick you down HARD and nothing seems sweeter than giving it back. However, screw them, have a butterscotch cone and focus on getting better. Keep your breath to cool your porridge.
- Parseltounge is world’s most popular language—
Surprise! This needs no further explanation than those caution boards at zoos with ‘Beware. Poisonous snakes, might bite’ written on it.
- ‘Anythig’s possible if you got enough nerve’—
Dare to break rules. Dare to dream. Dare to stand up for yourself. Dare to believe and you’d unlock a new dimension as though in a science fiction.
- Never say NO—
Can you do this?
“YES.”
Even if you don’t, you’ll figure it out.
7. Learn to say NO—
Ironic? Calculate the risks. Only a fool would agree to everything. I mean, you wouldn’t say YES to slicing your hand with a dagger like Jude, would you?
8. Get it over with—
Planning and analyzing one single thing for years isn’t gonna get us anywhere. Harry would never have killed Voldemort if he never actually ACTED.
9. Winning isn’t hard—
Most people in the game chicken out of responsibilities, so it’s already an easier territory to win. All we have to do is WORK.
10. 5am club is serious—
It’s crazy how if you own your morning, life elevates like crazy. Wake up with the birds and you get to fly high.
11. Steal like an artist—
Austin Kleon says that art is theft. Learn to steal inspiration from everywhere. All that is to be said, has already been said.
12. ‘When did I ever give you the impression that I give a fuck about what people think of me?’ – Xaden
13. Live like an eight year old—
Adulthood feels like the death of curiosity and honesty. Run after butterflies, stare at the stars and never stop questioning.
14. ‘It is our choices that show what we truly are; far more than our abilities.’ – Professor Dumbledore
15. Learn to shut up—
Knowing where not to speak is way more important than knowing where to.
16. It’s never easy, only ever interesting—
Elizabeth Gilbert says that she never asked art to be easy, only to be interesting and now she will happily deal with IDEAS.
17. ‘Self education is the only form of education that exists.’— Isaac Asimov
18. ‘When you learn to die is only when you learn to live’- Tuesdays with Morrie
19. Life is like a novel, and I’m hooked—
We don’t know what the next page unfolds, let alone the next chapter. Let it unravel. You never know when a plot twist might show up. Believe in the artist, not the art. Believe in YOU, not the life.
With that I put down my quill. I know nineteen are still very little candles to enlighten, but enough to light a fire of energy in the soul. I might have grown out of dinner parties but never out of princess gowns. The chocolate might now be coffee but dragons and castles still remain. Fear might have changed to nerve but the curiosity remains.
I don’t know what this decade will write me into—tragedy, comedy, epic, or satire. But I do know this-I’m the one holding the quill. And I plan to write a damn good story.
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