It is 19:19 on the clock on 19^th of August 2011 and this is my last day as a 19 year old

Okay, that sounded so much cooler in my head. Anyways, so this is it, the final destination of my journey as a teenager. Being the period that defined me and changed me (so many times!), I just couldn’t let this one go without a post.

Before I plunge myself into nostalgia, let me reiterate a conversation I had with my sister Priyanka when I was… 11 or 12, not sure. It went something like this –

PHM – Manu, happy birthday! Now you’ll be turning a teenager.

Me – Thanks, but whats the big deal about it?

PHM – You’ll start fighting with parents, your voice will change, you’ll rebel against things…

Me – Why would I fight with my parents?

PHM – For some reason or the other.

Me – I am pretty sure I won’t.

PHM – You’ll see.

Me – You have no idea what you’re talking about.

PHM – You’ll see.

I remember this conversation distinctly as I really couldn’t imagine a scenario where I would go against the wishes of my parents and boy was I wrong.

Teenage brought some amazing experiences and lots of learning. From weird hairstyles to study routines to staying up all nights and searching for some random stuff, it was truly a time where I enjoyed thoroughly.

I met people from all walks of life, thanks to Ragnarok, among many other games, which also gave me a chance to learn lessons which would have been difficult to emulate in real life. I made friends which live in various parts of the nation, learnt about their lives and their experiences. This game or more specifically this game’s community was a significant part of my teenage and I really thank them all for making it a brilliant experience.

To this date, I am friends with most of the people I played with and well, they’re just great guys. Taking names would mean that I would miss someone out so, if you are reading this and you know me, then you know it is you that I speak about.

School, however was a mixed bag. But, let bygones be bygones and well, there isn’t anything I can do about what has already happened but to take the best out of it so, school did provide me a platform to learn and develop. They say school friends are the closest because you have the best memories with them. That’s true.

From sharing those samosas to not doing homework to standing outside class for not bringing the drawing notebook, some of the funniest moments I have spent with my schoolmates. So, thank you guys! Again, I mean each and every one of you. Whether the moments spend with you were good or bad, it doesn’t matter, because they certainly were memorable!

Now comes the best part – the music and clothes. Ah! Black t-shirt with some band’s print on it and blue jeans were my staple dress during most of my teenage. Music – I’d thank Pink Floyd, Beatles, Swanand Kirkire, Indian Ocean, random sad Bollywood songs, Linkin Park, Eminem and some other stuff which I cannot remember, but I am sure was important at that time.

“Hello. Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me.

All in all you were all just bricks in the wall.

With a little help from my friends.

The girl with kaleidoscope eyes….

Ooooh maa! Ooooh paa! Must the show go on?

There’s a lady who’s sure, all that glitters is gold…

Baanwara mann dekhne… chala ek sapna.

Arrey ruk ja re bandeh, ke kudrat has padegi, ho…

…nothing but my own mistakes staring back at me…

Aye udi udi udi. Aye khwabon ki buri

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy…

Hazaaron khwahishein aisi ke har khwahish pe dum nikle

Mere mehboob qayamat hogi, aaj ruswa tere galiyon mein mohbaat hogi…

Chal chaein apne ghar aye mere gumsafar…”

(I can’t remember the rest)

Where would I be without these lyrics and their music which accompanied me through all the ups and downs of this exciting journey? And where would I be without the weird phone conferences which lasted for hours without any discussion topic? Thanks to all friends who were a part of that. They were just so much fun!

Wait… this is sounding like a Filmfare speech for Best Debut Actor. Anyways, I’d like to thank the Academy, uhh… I mean, I’d like to thank all those who are responsible for making Idea, Airtel, Reliance and most recently Tata Docomo rich because of the talktime I spent on you all.

Be it calling up at the middle of the night just to say “Dude… I forgot to say good night” or asking each other’s opinion on a little insignificant thing or talking for hours and then say “Padhne ka time nahin milta yaar”, mobiles made it all possible.

Thanks to all the teachers for teaching me so well and being there whenever I needed you. Also, thanks to CA profession and everyone associated in it for letting me start out at a (relatively) early age. It is fun to be amongst you all.

Thanks to all the puppy loves, the first sight crushes, epic relationships and the people who were a party to that. Those romantic songs would have been meaningless without someone to picture it with. Without you all, teenage would lose half its charm Thanks to the naive dreams like – “I’ll marry as soon as I turn 21” and “I’ll keep changing cities every 2 months” and “yaar apan milte rehenge… bye kyun keh raha hai”. It’s a little sad to watch these dreams go. They were fun though and made me learn some important lessons. I still remember how happy I was at my last or was it the year before last’s birthday? I don’t know. So, I was happy about being just 1 or 2 years away from 21! Legal marriageable age! Woohoo! Ha! Ha! Those were both the fun days and the funny days.

Thanks to social networks, first Orkut and then Facebook which made networking possible and ensured that I met new friends and stayed in touch with old ones. Thanks to internet for being there for… well… everything.

So to sum it all, teenage was fun. It was full of memorable experiences and unforgettable lessons. It was full of soulful relationships and sincere friendships, fiery enthusiasm and rookie mistakes, pehla pehla pyaar and emotional attyachaar, mobile phone pe baatein aur woh lambi lambi raatein, profound movies and impactful novels, thodi bahut padhai aur zabardasti ki ladai, teacher se daant khaana but fir unka acche se samjhana, everything was simply… necessary for me. If I hadn’t done all the things I did, I would have felt that I missed out! But thanks to you all, I pretty much did everything I thought was supposed to be done in teenage.

Thanks to my parents, family and friends for tolerating me during the teenage and for making it all possible.

If I’ve forgotten anything or anyone, I am sorry. This is a – publish as soon as you finish post and… I am bound to skip some stuff.

So, this is my last day as a nine-TEEN year old on 19^th and I begin as a twenty year old on 20^th. (I think I did it again ).

The next decade would pretty much shape my future as I step up to face the challenges of the world both professional and personal and everything in between   and I swear on my computer, I’ll prepare hard for it!

Edit – When I read it again – why am I saying thanks so much? Gee. All I did was survive for 20 years. Anyways, I guess, I am just grateful to everyone who has been a part of my life for the past decade, especially the teenage part, hence the repetitive “Thank Yous”