Growing Old, Growing Up, Growing Apart

I had an amazing year.

It started out with the beginning of a new job, which would be a stepping stone to another one within the same industry. I had the fortune of meeting so many new people and learned a great deal from them, and from many aspects too. I'm finally 25, and growing old has never meant so little to me.

This year would mark the first year I officially stepped into the world of corporate finance. Given the opportunity, I wish I could have done so earlier. I think I would've made it a lot further and happier today. I've made a few big mistakes here and there. Some were repercussions of my rash decisions and some were roads to hell paved with my misguided good intentions. I've tried to make amends, and hopefully no one holds a serious grudge against me. Still, it seems that growing up may have made me more myopic. I think for myself now more than ever, and give less regard for other opinions. Ironically, I've also read more and expanded my horizon, acknowledging more possibilities and understanding many new points of view. This has simply convinced me even more that I should stand my ground and hold my own every time I am challenged. So I've grown up a little, and sometimes I still wish I hadn't.

I feel like my thoughts are more composed this year. I'm not as scattered as I was a few years back, where I would just piece in whatever I can think of just to form a sentence. I also feel like I've cemented my character somewhat, and as a result, I've set myself in a direction with more certainty. I've set a few concrete goals, and I'm already halfway there in achieving some. But I've taken on too much and not giving myself enough time to keep up.

Many people seem to think that the more we grow up, the more the blacks and whites become gray. I think it's completely the opposite. I think people just lose themselves while growing up, because we were taught the blacks and whites , the rights and wrongs, and the do's and don'ts since we were young and they should have never left us. Because as we grow up, we learn more, and instead of letting our learning muddle and confuse our character, we should let it reinforce our hearts and minds. Saying "it's complicated" is just an excuse for being ignorant, indecisive, or weak.

On another note, as I venture further into the unfamiliar grounds of this world, I've left the roads I've trodden untouched, as many of us inevitably do while moving forward in life. For better or worse, it has happened. We've all grown apart, and as much as I still cherish and hold these bonds and banes (yes, they all matter) close to my heart, I've got to keep moving, and can only pray that these paths cross again.

This wrong mind thinks that the right heart it's stuck with, may not have been right after all