ah, maturity

The process of growing up and maturing is a long and tedious one, and it must seem even longer for members of the XY chromosome. As a girl, the process of maturing has been one of complexity, and till this day, it continues to puzzle me. I've often wondered about the stages of maturing- initiation, transition, and finally, developing into a mature person- both physically and emotionally. Many times have I asked myself if I've bloomed into a mature young lady; but then, the question of "maturity" comes about. How can one define maturity? Or rather, how is maturity defined? There are times when I feel like I've finally crossed that 'mature' line, only to be told by my parents that I'm immature.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm more mature than most of my peers.

Or so I'd like to think. Maybe not.

Maturity. It brings to mind another question: Why do boys take a longer time to mature than girls? It makes me cringe to think that their childish behavior seems incessant. When will they ever grow up? WILL they ever grow up? Will there ever be a time when these boys can actually give you serious, rational, well-thought out opinions to life's questions?

I never got answers to any of those questions.

But that was me- 4 years ago, at 19. Freshmen at Monash, eager to enter a new phase of life and hopefully, to finally meet MEN.

Yum. Heh. I kid. ;)And I digress. 
You see, when girls get together, we talk. A lot. Usually about boys. Of course, there are other 'topics of interest', but we mostly end up talking about boys, rating them on a scale of 'dateable', or 'not dateable'. 
Yes. We friendzone guys. And yes, we're somewhat shallow at times. 
So there we were, mentally checking several guys off our list as dateable or not, until we came to a realization that...
THERE ARE ACTUALLY NO DATEABLE GUYS! OH THE HORROR!! 
Okay, so maybe they're not 'not dateable'. But we can never imagine dating any of these guys, simply because...they're boys. 
(Read 'boys' with a tone of disgust)

Naturally, what would follow would be a session of whining and complaining. Complaining about our fate; that we are bound to be spinsters because of the lack of men in our lives. So there I was, complaining ceaselessly, till this wise girlfriend of mine said something profound and rather life-changing:

"Maybe, we as girls should learn how to invest in guys. We always complain about the lack of guys, but maybe, we shouldn't treat them as 'off the counter' products. Instead, we should invest in their lives to see them mature into...you know, 'dateable men'"

Profound much.

So that was the story of how I came to ask a different question.
Now, with a little more maturity at the age of 22 (I hope!), and with many more wise, young girlfriends, I'm learning to ask, "What does it mean to invest in guys? How do I invest in them?" instead of "When will they ever grow up?"

Along the way of these 4 years, I've met many boys whom I've grown to love and cherish. They have been a vital and important part of my life, as well as my maturing process, and while I do complain from time to time about their immaturity,I'm proud to see them mature. I have come to love and respect them for being the men that they are today. Men in their own right.

No doubt that they did take awhile to mature. 4 years! But heck, it's fulfilling. And my job as their sister is to encourage them and to help them focus on what's important: on God, ministry, their dreams, how they should treat women, and also...
How we, as young ladies, view our men. Or what makes them a man. :) 
Ah, maturity. As I ponder over an ending for this post, I find myself asking another question. 
Why on earth did I write this? Maybe it's because of my tendency to think nonsensical thoughts during my free time. Worse, I think of my nonsensical thoughts as thought provoking. 
I think too highly of myself. Heh. 
Anyway.
You see, I have this friend. He's slightly older than the rest of us, but I've always seen him as a peer. Maybe because he's still studying. Maybe it's because of the way he acts, or the jokes that he makes. 
Or maybe it's because he finds disgusting things funny. 
But I realized that throughout our 4 years of friendship, I've grown to respect him. He has earned my respect because of his wisdom, and his love for God and all things godly. Because he's not afraid to reprimand us when we act un-Christian-like. Because he always pushes us, and myself, towards God. 
And then I come to another realization: 
That most of my male friends have been doing that for us girls. 
So, here's to all the men in my life. Here's to maturity-towards God, towards our future partners, and towards our friends and family. You have been nothing less than amazing, putting up with all of my (our!) crap, and yet, being so patient with us when we act like spoiled princesses. 
Ah, maturity. Like a few not-so-wise male friends used to say:

"Men are like wine. We 'taste' better as we get older. Women, however, are the opposite. They get sour as they grow older"

They did have a point. But they're deemed as 'not-so-wise' because of the feminist in me, and my female pride, refusing to admit that we become sour prunes as we age.

So, here's to my girlfriends as well! Let us all age gracefully, with warm hearts towards the people around us, even when they act in highly aggravating manners.

Yes, that's you, boys. :))

p/s: Thank you for letting us be part of that process of maturation :)