more than just YEN

ARE YOU IN THE DATING GAME?

Contructive comments are welcome to this post. We are talking about BGR, the boy-girl-relationship in today’s era.

We often listen to the laments of the generation before us i.e. our parents, how the "younger" ones are growing up too fast, especially when it comes to casual dating. Generaton Y-ers, will you humbly agree? Or will you take a stand of your own?

As for myself, I may stand on the fence this time. I guess it really depends on individuality. For instance, the maturity level of two 16 year-olds will differ from one another. And we are talking about a heterogeneous population here, where no one is similar to the other. But the question is, on whose standards do we base whether a person is matured enough, or "qualified" to date at a particular age?

That said, we move on to the purpose of dating that may have changed through the timeline. BGR relationships have evolved from marriages restricted to the same clan/caste TO inter-clan marriages TO arranged marriages with NO dating (non-negotiable, just tie the knot as instructed, please) TO today’s free-to-choose-your-spouse-but-bear-your-own-consequence manner. Can we blame this freedom as the cause for the so-called "rat race" in love? After all, it is not uncommon that people begin courting at a relatively young age, and seeing others coupled when you are not may leave a person green with envy (mostly due to inferiority), hence I-want-a girlfriend-NOW-or-I-am-a-GEEK mentality.

Is it a necessity to "catch up"?

The grass may always greener on the other side, but remember, yours isn’t too bad either.

Numbers matter. Especially if it used to describe your age. Along with many more who were born in 1986, we are facing a terrible transition this year from a nineTEEN to a twenty-year-old (20) young adult (note that your age no longer starts with the number "1" any more. *shivers*)

how does one feel about that?

up to recently, i hadn’t really gave it much thought. But when 85% of our peers began to drive around in their own four-wheels to UNIVERSITY (no longer depending on mummy or the little orange school bus), and began to acquire access to an urban nightlife activity called CLUBBING, and also, began to walk hand-in-hand in pairs of Adam & Eve in campus and shopping malls,the age of 20 must have something to do with it.

the changes seem to be drastic once you’ve hit the big 20. and we have not even received our so-called "KEYS OF FREEDOM" which are traditionally given to someone on their 21st birthday. these changes may even turn harsh (consider someone less fortunate who have NO appeal to the hype of Hartamas at night, NO "boyboy" or "girlgirl" to hold their hands, and NO four-wheels but only their faithful legs to carry them to campus).

hmmmm… some thoughts for us to consider.

to all who will turn/have turned 20 this year, our life have just begun.