It has been popularly said that age is a number. A conversation usually discussed when you’re — ahem — much older. We’ve had these conversations about that particular age where we could stay forever. When I graduated at 21 and was unsure what I wanted to do in life, I wished I was 19 again.
At 19, I was so excited about what life had to offer heading out to study after working as a receptionist for a year. I was so excited about what I was going to learn getting a degree in a course I chose without parental influence. Many of my peers at that time became accountants unwillingly.
At 19, I had just left my little town of Kuching, this town in Sarawak in Borneo. Mind you, Kuching was a big town coming from an even smaller town of Seria, Brunei. I was going to live outside of Borneo for the first time in my life. I was heading out to to see the big city of Kuala Lumpur and its bright lights.
At 19, I had my whole life ahead of me. Not a girl, not yet a woman. I knew even then there was so much I didn’t know I didn’t know. I did the Clifton Strengths Finder test a few years back and it was revealed that I love learning and the process of learning.
I don’t have the facts but I like the thought of new neurons in my grey matter forming as I learn new things from being a DJ to creative writing to pole dancing to who knows what else. I am trusting this will help ward off illnesses like Alzheimer’s.
So you see, it’s not about the looks or the figure by staying 19. It’s about the books I haven’t read, the languages I haven’t learned and the countries I haven’t visited. It’s about the world and the people and how everyday is just going to be something new.