#twentyfour

I am twenty four. And despite saying it over and over again, it doesn't seem like I am twenty four. I still feel like my seventeen year old self but that being said, I definitely realise the difference that four years makes when it comes to my peers. I say this with much harrumph and the full knowledge that I too, was once as frightened and shy as they were.

Let me explain.

So, we just finished a four day community placement and pretty much had free rein over various interactions and interviews with agencies around the community. Being a control freak and anally retentive, I had prepared for the week before leaving by researching each agency we were visiting and also planned my bus route because we were told that internet access was not a given. NO ONE ELSE HAD DONE SO. Which meant that I had several panicky undergrads who were too frightened to catch a bus in a foreign city and would rather walk for forty five minutes instead of catching a ten minute bus. A FORTY FIVE MINUTE walk. I also had undergrads falling asleep in community visits which I found unbelievably rude. Amongst other things which I will refrain from mentioning.

I finally understand why
a) undergrads find mature students so annoying
b) why post grads look down on undergrads so much
I would much rather my life experience than being a graduated doctor now. I look back and realise how much I appreciate my background because I know that I would've been just like them and it isn't their fault that they lack that maturity and life experience because they haven't had the (mis)fortune of well, life. I also discovered that I would much rather hang out by myself than be stuck talking about inane things - sometimes, being alone amongst one's thoughts is much preferable. And while I make no claim to wanting intellectual conversation (because I am pretty apathetic when it comes to things like politics), I think I've moved on from the days where we're all dying to talk about the different things we're wanting to experiment with. And I don't really give a shit if my conservative ways seem uncool to you all because frankly, I don't actually care what you think.

So I spent my twenty fourth birthday with my parents in a pretty low key manner. But low key is good for me because let's face it - turns out I'm embracing my old age pretty wholeheartedly.