Future Growth

I don't want to grow up. I like being the way I am. My life is great just the way it is, and not only do I not want my life to change, I want everyone around me to stay the same too. But it doesn't work like that because people grow up and their goals in life change and then the world we know becomes a memory.

It's quite a daunting thought, but the truth is that of my current circle of friends most of us aren't going to live in the same city in 5 to 10 years time. Now, at the moment these people are my support group, they are like family to me, and to think that they are going to fade from my life doesn't exactly encourage me.

Sure I'll see them and speak to the regularly but I won't be seeing them every two or three days like I do at the moment.

Let's be honest, Matt is studying Game Design and won't get a job working in that field in Cape Town, Pierre may be going to Berlin as soon as the beginning of next year to work as a programmer, Justin is unlikely to get a job lecturing at any university in Cape Town, and possibly not even in South Africa, Gareth will end up spending at least 10 months a year on tour and Donovan will end up shooting all over the world. By staying in Cape Town I'm not winning anything...

So is my life destined to be relegated to aimlessly wandering the world or am I actually going to have people I'm willing to sacrifice for like I do now?

While the future may look quite bleak at the moment, it is in fact quite bright. You see, I could easily end up working as an Air Traffic Controller in London, and would then be able to travel throughout Europe to visit Pierre or any of my other friends, go to football matches, see my favorite bands play live and meet new people as I go along.

I suppose it is at this stage that the idea of 'sibling love' and a romantic relationship surfaces, simply because these are the people who are most likely to journey through life with me the closest.

I have a lot of research to do before I can address these issues, but I can say that growing up is something that we should expect and take part in, not something we should fear or try to put off. It's part of life, and has been since the beginning of time. Friendships change, they grow closer and further apart as time goes on, the dynamic will change but the influence those people have or have had on our lives is what makes them special.

So I am choosing to enjoy what I have now, and look forward to seeing the people around me succeed in their lives.