Right before we all finished our O levels, we had a big happy picture in our heads. To each of us, the end of the O levels symbolized something exciting and new. To some it was the permission to date and hang out with friends. To others its getting a job or going to college. And to people like me, it was the pure taste of unrestricted freedom.
However, life isn't all black and white. You can't wake up one morning and suddenly get everything you ever wanted. These things take time and patience. And even as I say this I know how lame and soul-crushing that sounds. However, the point is, our idea of what post-school life might have been just a tad bit overrated.
The truth is, after a while, you miss the stability. You miss the familiarity of having friends who understand you and stick by your side through thick and thin. You miss all the times you've trolled the teacher. You miss getting into trouble. You miss not being able to wait to go to school the next day because you have to give your friends some exciting news. You miss being crazy.
And even if you all hang out together, you are going to miss the rules. You are going to miss the uncomfortable uniform we all love to hate. You are going to miss having a teacher to pull you all apart. But that is all part of life. Isn't it? Let me quote something from one of my favorite books, the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
"Things change. Friends leave. But life doesn't stop for anybody."
But there are some friends you've known for only a short time, but you know that you can't ever let them go, even if you wanted to. As for me, my friends are so crazy sometimes I think they might kidnap me and force me to miss them. I will always love my old friends, but I want to mention Shunie, Sara, Nashu and Anoo because I think out of all my best friends I've known them for the least amount of time. But that doesn't make me love them less.
So as I said, things change and you have to go on with your life, but you should always slow down and make some time for your friends from now, because they loved you for who you are. And they don't mind it when you say stupid things or act silly. In fact, they'd probably join you. Those are your real friends.
And those of you who can still see your friends everyday, have as much fun as you can, and act as crazy as you can, because pretty soon, you would be expected to act all mature and responsible. And trust me when I say, its not a lot of fun. So just enjoy 'now' because 'now' is all we have.
