i) when you're 17, you envy the world. you feel miserable when you see others doing things better than you. not just in academics, art or sports but basic life skills like talking to a room full of strangers, making friends with people from other departments, public speaking, the art of saying 'no', defending yourself, maintaining your self respect, saying sorry, reaching out to people you haven't talked to in a long time, ordering food without rehearsing it 20 times in your brain, listening well before speaking, saying the right words to comfort those in pain, knowing when you are allowed be angry, and understanding what love really is. when you're 17, you are still struggling to grow, to learn and you envy the entire world doing things so effortlessly when you are here losing your damn mind, obsessing over every little detail. ii) when you reach 21, you realise that you do not want to waste your youth envying them. you want to become everything you hoped for. so, you start with small steps. you go to the convenience store beside your apartment building and try to ask for things more confidently. you go on a trip with friends of your friends and involve yourself more in every conversation. you don't say 'no' again when your friends ask you to dance with them. you do it awkwardly but you're happy to be surrounded by people. you confront your roommate when she oversteps your boundary and you learn that just because you love someone doesn't mean that you will tolerate all their mess, and their toxic behaviour. you finally begin to understand that it will take a long way to reach where you always wanted to be. iii) at 24, things will be clearer than before. you'll realise that everyone else is struggling, too. in their own ways, they are consumed by their own thoughts. the things that you thought were cool about them were something they themselves weren't aware of. they told you their own stories of their awkward phases, the phases that they worked hard to overcome. nobody ever talks about it but you'll learn when you grow up that everything in life needs practice. even the most basic skills. people may be more confident naturally but even they have parts when they waver. they have times when they doubt themselves and lose their sanity over it. nobody will ever tell you how hard they worked to be who they are. so, you'll understand that you weren't alone in this world. everyone else was struggling, too. you will realise that most of our life is muscle memory and we can only ever grow if we continue to try. iv) and when you reach 27, you will know that this is how life is going to be. it will be a long struggle. there will be parts where you will improve significantly and parts that you have to strive for even when you're trying your best. you'll learn that your fears won't go away all at once but you yourself have the power to not let it control you. you'll learn that when they said practice makes perfect, they were right. even when you won't become perfect, you'll know that you are closer to it at 27 — Rae Pathak, Sobrang nakaka inspired nman ito ka noise..totoong totoo..naranasan ko tlga .kayo din ba ka noise????