“I’m afraid I’ve been thinking (a dangerous past time, I know)“- Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.

Same applies for me la, but it’s not too bad, sometimes I do come up with pretty deep stuff if I may say so myself Though yes, I also admit sometimes it is utter crap.

I was wondering, especially at this age–you know, late teens, early-to-mid twenties…when’s the right time to start following your heart even (or especially) when everyone else you know is against it?

It’s just one of those things, you know. It could be something as simple as buying a slutty top or dress just ‘cos you feel like it, or getting a piercing, or a tattoo–or getting a partner or potential spouse.

Family and friends will always want what’s best for you, granted. But sometimes, you are the main arbiter of what truly makes you happy. They will always say something along the lines of not wanting you to make the same mistakes they did,but I honestly feel that who qualifies a mistake as a mistake? Similar arguments apply to what constitutes beauty–as the old adage goes, one man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Taking this first step isn’t so much about rebelling, I feel, or ‘going against’ the wishes of those who only want what’s best for you. It’s about you, what makes you happy. And at the end of the day, doesn’t that account for more than anything else? Because it never will be possible to make everyone happy, the line of the oldie goes something like ‘can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.’ You’re going to be guilty of sedition anyway, might as well be guilty of something that makes you happy right?
More than anything, I feel this first step is a bigger thing than moving out of home. Because although you live out of home, overseas, like many of you are right now, you still ‘listen and obey’, more often than not, right? But it’s still such a big thing, I feel, being fully conscious of doing something you know a whole batallion of people will disapprove of.

That’s when I reckon you truly become an adult, the say you can say, “Thank you kindly for your advise, and I have considered all the options–but this is what is going to make me happy so I’m sticking to my guns”.

Now now, I’m not encouraging a full-on rebellion or burning people at stake–it’s far less dramatic than that. How often have we not done something for the fear of ‘going against’ the word of the parents, or friends, and then regretted it a few days, months, years down the line?

Life without making mistakes and learning from them is a half-life, I feel. I’m not saying we can entirely disregard the opinions and advice of others, just to know when to draw that line between what makes them happy, and what makes us happy–because ultimately, whose life is it?

But this timing, aah, that’s the tricky thing.