Growing Up

At six, we could be anything we wanted to.

A scuba diver. An astronaut. A rock star playing the guitar in the air.

The bittersweet feeling of the last day of the summer vacation.

We were the hope of

A floating paper boat.

Or the paper plane getting stuck somewhere on 

Someone's terrace like a teenage dream.

Or the happiness of finding Maggie in a lunchbox.

And, a bad full of notebooks neatly stacked next to

One another-- one for every subject. "Mom, my tummy's hurting."

Skipped school days.

Holiday homework on the last day

Of the summer vacation.

Running around in batman pajamas, unaware how

Invincible and infinite we were.

How we thought Richie Rich was rich and not Jeff Bezos.

We are a generation of kids who have written

Testimonials on Orkut,

Stalked timelines on Facebook and

Double tapped on Instagram.

Stories were told by my grandma as she sat beside my bed and not

what our crush puts up on Instagram.

But then came the board exam.

And the shirt that we wore everyday

Became a scrapbook of memories.

I still remember the last day of school,

Everyone promised to stay in touch.

Then life happened and friends became names in contact list.

At seventeen, nobody--

Nobody told us that

Growing up was a trap.

Growing up is showing up

In college just for attendance

Even though you're sick.

Growing up was waiting for a Saturday

On a..... Monday.

Growing up was cut-offs,

Slow internet and friend zone.

Growing up was a gift which is packed beautifully.

The kid inside us unwrapped

The gift, only to realize it's been empty-- all along

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