Being 16...

Since forever, sixteen, as an age, has been considered as the time when a young one 'blooms'... 'Blooms' in the sense that they reach an age when they can comprehend the good and the bad, and in the sense that they are romantically excited! Sixteen or not... This post is especially for all those hopeless romantics out there, who are truly forever 'Only 16!' It is a basic trend... (I call it basic because I cannot call it recent nor traditional since this trend is an ever-prevailing one!). It is a basic trend amongst kids, no wait, adults! No teenagers! Lets just say hopeless romantics!! It is a basic trend amongst hopeless romantics to 'date' - to be in nonchalant relationships... In your teenage, these often end due to reasons like "It's our Tenth (or Twelfth) std... We need to focus on studies" or "You're too serious about it! I'm not ready for it" and blah blah! (You know! You've been through some relationships like that!) Love is a beautiful feeling. So is infatuation. It is a great feeling when you become aware about yourself, your needs, your likes... It is a natural phenomenon that every one of us go through. And trust me, everything about nature is both beautiful and enchanting. So is growing up. Thinking about your 'crush', imagining and fancying about them, whiling away precious time... Or if you're lucky, investing time watching a movie with your special one, dinner maybe or just maybe working together...! It is a great feeling! But at what cost? When I ask you that question, I ask you to contemplate... And the answer does not have to be that you are or were wasting time over him/her. I am definitely not one of those who are against young people being in relationships. As I said, it's all natural... All those feelings, those emotions... Let them flow! At the same time, I'm not one of those who completely agree wasting time over unfruitful relationships either... The logic is very simple. If you are able to say that you 'enjoyed' being with that special person... You have been in the right place and have chosen the right option... If not, you've acted like an idiot. But hey take it easy! Forgive yourself! Guilt is anyways the worst feeling. Worse than grief even. You need not subject yourself to it for something this petty. So what exactly is "enjoying" with that special person? Everyone of us thought "we enjoyed ourselves being there... It was good... But it had to end..." No! Just because you went through it, and now you don't want to feel foolish about yourself,  don't try to justify it with silly and baseless theories.When I say enjoy in a relationship, I presume you are mature enough to define it. If not, let me help you. The only definition of 'enjoy' in a relationship is: when you enjoy being loved, when you enjoy being cared for, when you enjoy being supported, when you enjoy becoming better, when your loved ones and your family enjoy that version of you when you are with that person... When you know it's not only about the flaunting, it's not only about the physical relationship, it's not only about the commitment... when it's not only about your relationship, but you and him/her as individuals. That is enjoyment. You can only enjoy being in a relationship if there is a YOU in it. People always have defined healthy relationships as when there's an 'Us' or 'We' before a 'Me' or 'I'! But I beg to differ! A healthy relationship is when you have an 'I' in 'Us'! When you have a 'Me' in 'We'! That's the kind of relationship you must be in. That's the only kind of relationship you must be in. If you think you can get that in a relationship, Voila! That's when you MUST be 'with' that person. Even if you feel there's no future with that person... You might have different career goals, different relationship goals when it comes to marriage etc., Don't bother about any of that. If you managed to find an 'I' in the 'US' with that person, stick to them! This person will be a part of your life for good. So let them be! You don't have to marry and have kids with them! The "ghar basana" with your gf/bf concept is extinct. Enjoy your teenage, enjoy your twenties, you deserve it all! But just do it with the right amount of maturity. First ask yourself if you are mature enough to handle yourself in a relationship, then ask yourself if you are mature enough to judge the relationship. Then get into it. Take all the benefits of being sixteen... Both the romantic as well as the intellectual benefits! Because.... It's a beautiful feeling... Being 16...