Aging

Introduction

I recently ran into my secondary school additional mathematics tutor, Mr Low. He still retains his charming demeanour and sense of humour, even though his hair had turned white.

This brought back memories.

• In our last lesson before the SPM exam, Mr Low said, "Success is a choice. It depends on your attitude. You need to have a positive attitude if you want success. You need to put all your mind, heart and energy into achieving success. Can you do that?"
• He even taught us to sing "If We Hold On Together".

Youth

Time is the one thing that we cannot stop or reverse.

• As you read this, you are at the youngest point you will ever be in the future.

If you have a desire to travel or explore, do it while you are young; do not let financial constraints hold you back.

• While you may accumulate wealth in the future, you can never recapture the youthful excitement of seeing magnificent scenery or the energy that propels you to rise early for sunrise.
• Similarly, it is hard to comprehend why we used to indulge in endless anime marathons late into the night.

As we entered adulthood, we not only aged physically, but mentally as well.

• Time flies by at this stage of life. It seems like just yesterday I was a carefree kid, running around without a care in the world. Now, here I am, an adult with a growing tummy and thinning hair.

Responsibilities

"With great power, comes great responsibility." as Uncle Ben told Peter Parker in the Spiderman movie.

As time passes, we gradually realise the challenges our parents faced in trying to fulfil our demands with limited income.

• They made numerous sacrifices for our sake, pushing beyond their limits to make sure we had the best they could afford.
• Remember, there was a time when they too were carefree individuals, solely responsible for themselves.
• Furthermore, we begin to witness our past rebellious selves mirrored in others.

Summary

While we may hope that aging brings wisdom and a sense of accomplishment, the reality is often different.

• As the years go by, we may experience a decline in mobility, memory lapses, and general body pain.
• Regrettably, these are inevitable aspects of the aging process that we must come to accept.

Nonetheless, the journey of life continues and we learn to navigate its challenges with the experiences we accumulate along the way.