The end and the beginning

When the year ends for the others for me it begins. Passing the last few moments of the twenty-second year of my existence on the mother earth, I begin to realize that birthdays become such lackluster affairs when you grow up. And I begin to see that forgetting the day you were born is perfectly normal.
I look back once again and count out the hearts I have won and the hearts I have lost within the past twelve months. I think for a moment about the friends I have made, the exams I got through and the line up of exams I am still to get through; another year, another line of exams, a bagful of new challenges wrapped in the same old wrapping paper of work, family and studies.
My Poetry Diary tells me that it’s time I get ready for the next Gratiaen. The plot inside my head tells me that it needs some sheets of paper to lie down. I would think and think again whether it is the right time to start off something which can lull the little balance I so vainly maintain. Sometimes, it is really difficult to wait for that call- the call of the heart, that tells you everything is under control and that the time is ripe and the winds are perfect to set sails.
Birthdays always have an element of surprise in them that can keep me excited for the next twelve months. It has nothing to do with counting the greeting cards I get or the presents that find lodging on my table. Birthdays gives me the much needed assurance that friendships don’t expire in different geographical or professional conditions. Birthdays tell me that like vintage wine, little fraternities only grow too precious with time.
They make me feel old in a good way that with every single year I shed behind me, I have a story to tell, and a history to rejoice over.
When I turn twenty-three tomorrow, I should be thankful to all who make me live and all the trouble-makers and heart-breakers who make me feel all the more alive. It may be one step towards death, old age and frailty but at the same time, it certainly is one kilometer closer to maturity, seniority and familiarity.