This morning Prince met up with me for a quick breakfast moment at the McDonald's at our building. Given the differences in our schedules, he was on his way to work while I was waiting to clock out for the day. Still, it was nice how things came together for a quick meet-up despite everything else going on in the world. It's crazy how busy life can seem, even when it really isn't - that is, depending on your perspective of things.
In the course of our conversation, he mentioned how when we talk, it seems like I tend to make a lot of sense or at the very least how I tend to be either serious or at least sound like almost anything and everything is important.
It's an interesting enough statement - one that I've heard variations of over the years. It all sort of falls into the category of "Reasons Rocky is an Old Soul" or something like that. It's something I've been dealing with for some time now - maybe it's because I never smiled too much in photos, the really thick glasses that I used to wear or how I was obsessed with more "adult" concepts as explored in the worlds of science fiction. Whatever the reason, as early as grade school parents of my classmates would say things like I "have the eyes of the 30 year old" or that "I'm so mature for my age" and all that jazz.
And it sort of stuck. So whether I was like that to begin with or I felt I was convinced to be that kind of a person, I really did sort of end up being that person. Does that still make sense? The sentence sort of got away from me.
Regardless, I've always felt like I've been walking around with a doctor's In / Out sign above my head (with the sign stuck on IN) since people tend to come to me for advice. In high school I was giving relationship advice despite never having been in one myself. In college I felt like was giving career advice. There's always been something about me that seems to make it easier for people to talk to me and for some reason I tend to come up with something decent to say in response. People always don't take my advice well, but at least they agree that I tend to have a point.
So in talking to Prince today, him reminding me of this part about me (at least as far as he observes) was an interesting thing. It had me thinking all the way home on the MRT and even a bit more after. Plus I'm actually turning 30 this year, so perhaps this means that my biological age is finally catching up with my mental / emotional one?
It explains a lot about the kind of people I get along with, typically speaking. Most of my closer friends tend to be outside my peer group. Generally older folks tend to make a lot more sense and thus are worth talking to more. And there are fellow old souls out there, generally the ones younger than me ironically enough, with whom I've also shared strong bonds of friendship as well.
But as much as life seems to constantly make you feel like you need to rush to maturity and you constantly aim to grow up faster. Circumstances in life have a way of shaping you into the person you need to be for the future. And that can mean some really happy, amazing moments and the more somber, depressing times we all struggle through. Either way, life shapes us, changes us and makes us who we are.
And while that often means the need to "grow up" and be stronger, it's nice to find the friends and loved ones that allow you to relax your guards, put down the mantle of authority you wear and just let you be yourself. Or better yet, allow you to be a younger version of yourself - one not so encumbered with the stress of daily living, even if just for a moment. Tobie helps me in that regard and has helped me really laugh a lot and enjoy life since we got together. And now Prince has come along to open up new avenues of happiness for both me and Tobie. And that's a precious gift indeed.
And that's why I love both these guys to bits. As much as I'm still a generally responsible and sensible guy, I know that I can really let go with these two and just be the me I need to be when things get crazy.
In the course of our conversation, he mentioned how when we talk, it seems like I tend to make a lot of sense or at the very least how I tend to be either serious or at least sound like almost anything and everything is important.
And it sort of stuck. So whether I was like that to begin with or I felt I was convinced to be that kind of a person, I really did sort of end up being that person. Does that still make sense? The sentence sort of got away from me.
Regardless, I've always felt like I've been walking around with a doctor's In / Out sign above my head (with the sign stuck on IN) since people tend to come to me for advice. In high school I was giving relationship advice despite never having been in one myself. In college I felt like was giving career advice. There's always been something about me that seems to make it easier for people to talk to me and for some reason I tend to come up with something decent to say in response. People always don't take my advice well, but at least they agree that I tend to have a point.
It explains a lot about the kind of people I get along with, typically speaking. Most of my closer friends tend to be outside my peer group. Generally older folks tend to make a lot more sense and thus are worth talking to more. And there are fellow old souls out there, generally the ones younger than me ironically enough, with whom I've also shared strong bonds of friendship as well.
But as much as life seems to constantly make you feel like you need to rush to maturity and you constantly aim to grow up faster. Circumstances in life have a way of shaping you into the person you need to be for the future. And that can mean some really happy, amazing moments and the more somber, depressing times we all struggle through. Either way, life shapes us, changes us and makes us who we are.
And while that often means the need to "grow up" and be stronger, it's nice to find the friends and loved ones that allow you to relax your guards, put down the mantle of authority you wear and just let you be yourself. Or better yet, allow you to be a younger version of yourself - one not so encumbered with the stress of daily living, even if just for a moment. Tobie helps me in that regard and has helped me really laugh a lot and enjoy life since we got together. And now Prince has come along to open up new avenues of happiness for both me and Tobie. And that's a precious gift indeed.
And that's why I love both these guys to bits. As much as I'm still a generally responsible and sensible guy, I know that I can really let go with these two and just be the me I need to be when things get crazy.
I can almost imagine all them mouths yapping.
ReplyDeleteTee hee...
Now that sounds like talking nonsense, hehe.
DeleteLife's too short to be wasted on small minds.
Or maybe we're just born in the wrong culture!
Deleteharhar!
Oh please, it's even harder to talk about culture! LOL
DeleteI for one am intrigued and want to hear more! Glad yer happy. :)
DeleteOn being old for your age: remember back in school, your birthday was always among the first celebrated, which put you in the "older" half of the batch. This became particularly true in HS when we had batchmates who didn't have either prep or grade 7, creating a 2 year gap among us in some cases! So you (and to some extension, I) have always been part of the more experienced/older corner of the age bracket.
In a way, I feel that's the price one pays for having both a strong sense of realism and an active imagination---your perceptions are grounded in what's going on but also have the ability to conceive of situations outside your direct experience. This makes you worldly and comparably wiser!
Okay, enough assessment! Miss you both.