QLC

Another month and I will be 25. 25 years of existence. As I look back on all those years, I can't help but feel that I have only existed, not lived. Yes, I had a great childhood. Yes, I enjoyed all those years spent at school and at college, well, at least to a very large extent. Yes, I was elated when I landed my first job, perhaps even satisfied of having reached a significant milestone.
Period.


I remember my teachers at school constantly drilling into us that class X was the turning point of our lives. And then it was class XII. And then graduation. And then corporate life.
Now it is marriage that is on the lips of everyone I meet! The next "turning point".

"Hey, how are you? It's been quite some time since we caught up, isn't it? How's everything going on? When are you getting married?"
"Abhishek, you seem to be "settling down" pretty well. All that is left is for you to get married and "settle down completely"!"
"You know, ABC aunty's daughter is getting married next month. Right time and age to get married. When are you planning to get married?"

Sheesh! Can I too have a say, please?
I am not even 25! I have hardly found my feet on the ground. I have just scratched the surface of what I want to do and who I want to be. Right age? That is purely subjective. The state of the mind is what is more important. 
And "Settle down"? What on earth is that supposed to mean anyways? Bah!

This is the time to dream big. To find your groove. To chase the clouds. To carve your identity. To let your hair down. To explore. To quit doing something if you'd rather be doing something else.
Not the time to be bogged by societal expectations. Or the time to have terms dictated to you by others. Or the time to bother about buying that house or piece of land, which always seems to be out of reach.

The time to tie the nuptial knot will present itself.

Now is the time to live.