I’m 18. I shouldn’t be feeling old. This is my ‘time’ as they say. Something is obviously wrong with me, well, a lot of things are wrong with me but that’s another story. So, here are some things that make feel way beyond my years, in no particular order.
1. When I was in school, (Whoa, there it is, I’m Old!) I was a “Volunteer”. What this basically involves is me taking care of a classroom/hallway full of out-of-control kids during breaks and lunch hour. My “area” was the ground floor, which consisted of kindergartners. So anyway, it was this little girl’s birthday and she comes up to me and offers me a chocolate. So, of course, I take it, (‘Stealing candy from little kids? Evil Witch!’ I know what you’re thinking..) and wish her. There are of course a bunch of her friends surrounding her (I think we girls start on the whole ‘Herd’ thing pretty early), one of whom, probably wanting the attention too, tells me that her birthday was on some XYZ date, 2003. Then it hits me that I was born in 1991! So very, very old!
2. The other thing that makes me feel old is not understanding the point of Twitter. I admit it. You may start the ‘Its micro-blogging, It helps you connect, It gives you information in real time, You can follow all your favorite celebrities!’ thing. I still don’t get the point. Microblogging seems pretty pointless. I mean, how can you convey something meaningful in 140 charactes or less? Its been done of course, case in point,Ernest Hemingway. He once said that his best work was a story that consisted of only six words, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” It almost made me cry. The thing is, not all of us are one of the greatest writers in the world and posting something every other hour is probably going to make anyone sound insipid. For example, you could try reading our posts from the NaBloPoMo period. And that was everyday!
I really couldn’t care less about what someone is doing this very minute, even celebrities. ( I don’t like that word, should look for a new one.) Plus, following them seems really intrusive. But, maybe that’s just me. It probably is.
3. The third thing that made me feel old was an incident involving my 9 year old cousin. He had just participated in this nation-wide talent exam thing and come 7th in the entire country (Great Job!). My mum was congratulating him and then she asks him what he wants as a congratulatory present and what does he ask for? GTA Vice City! I was like, What. The. Hell. I mean I totally don’t believe in the whole “Video Games are Evil and we must Ban them” thing. In my opinion, shooting space aliens will hardly drive a child to say, “Oh I want to kill people!”. GTA is probably OK for someone older than 16, they can make up their minds (Hopefully) and will not go around murdering taxi drivers (Maybe they will, but they’re probably crazy to begin with.). Back to the point, I say (In my usual articulate manner) ‘What? Why?’ and he replies with ‘All my friends have it!’. Something you should know, parents here probably aren’t completely aware of what exactly these ‘new fangled video games’ have, that’s how a 9 year old ends up with a copy of GTA! That event concluded with me having to say ‘You’re too young for that game, sweetie. We’ll get you something else?’. Which 18 year old says that?
4. I feel really old when my younger cousins come to visit. They’re in that ‘I must run around, throw things, press buttons and scream a lot’ stage. The only way to shut them up seems to be the TV. Their cartoon of choice? Doraemon. In Hindi. Or Shinchan (That is one Messed Up kid!). Whatever happened to good shows for kids on TV? When I was their age (I find myself saying that a lot when they’re around), I would watch The Little Lulu show, The Flinstones, The Jetsons, the Laffalympics,Yogi Bear, practically anything on Nickelodeon. Those were good times. There’s just so much dumbed-down rubbish for kids on TV today. Someone should tell these TV people that kids are much smarter than they look.
I think that’s it. If there’s more I’ve forgotten it. You know what they say, the first thing to go is your memory..
In other news, I went to the Eye Doctor’s today. My Astigmatism’s gotten worse. Oh Joy!
Also; to my fellow Indians, Happy Republic Day!
Later People!
PS: Avatar from here. If you haven’t watched Charlie The Unicorn,Go NOW! Also; My brother found it.
The Oxymoronic Oxymorons 