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"Aging is mandatory. Maturity is optional" - Chris Antonak

It is hard, try as someone may, to be friends with everyone. It is the same for me, but then, Singapore is such a small place, so it is inevitable that I meet up with some people whom I have bad blood with somewhere, somehow. This happened to me last saturday while shopping in town. Luckily I was more than halfway done with my shopping that time, or it would have spoiled my shopping experience, like, totally. Since those unpleasantries happened aeons ago, I tend to a) pretend to look somewhere else and act like I didn't see them or b) ignore them totally and look straight ahead if I really can't carry out the a) option. If it was 5 years ago when I'm still 18, I would not discount the 3rd option of giving these people looks of disgust or discontent but I got over this phase of wanting to make people uncomfortable, especially since it was all well in the past. Besides, there was always this feeling of awkwardness about not being able to completely resolve several issues in the past. However, I can't say that everyone share my point of view, given that they are still, I presume, from their actions, stuck in the juvenile phase. Can't people just part on amicable terms, maybe not immediately but after some time? But I do admit I still am a bit immature for feeling exasperated at that kind of look she gave me, because maturity would remind me that the notion of indifference is what should have hit me. Yet at that point of time, my emotion was a mixture of mock annoyance and anger. Annoyed at how people don't change at least a bit even though it was 7-8 years back. The kind of look she gave me was totally reminiscent of the secondary school days, all at once transporting me back to those days of petty quarrels and unresolved teen issues. It was all really silly thinking about it now. Mum told me that I deserve a pat on the back for not having the same reaction as her, even as I told her I can't help feeling a lil' pissed. She rationalized that I have at least matured over these few years because I choose to try ignoring her instead of making her feel uncomfortable.

But I guess, for some people maturity just doesn't occur to them as they age. Perhaps a possible reason would be that they have met people who would take their crap without complaining, or that they have not learnt the art of letting things go.

Well, for me, I've learnt to let go of things more easily... and I rather concentrate on bigger things like threading safely through the arduous path that is life.