Before midnight strikes

Carpe diem — seize the moment!

Even if the statement is now a cliché, the energy behind the words remain youthful as ever. Every single stage of our life has its own beauty, however late teens and early twenties have their own distinct sense of unbridled excitement, nervous anticipation and colourful fervour.

I WANT SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS PROVINCIAL LIFE!

Aim for the stars, work till your bones wear off. Be curious and go on soul cleansing adventures. Do something dangerous, which makes it a little hard for you to breathe but do it anyways. Work, aim to change to the world and always believe that you can change the world even if you get unimpressed sceptic looks from everyone around you.

Follow your passion and do what you love, let the energy of the age guide you into great wonders. Give in to the spontaneity — to the rush and to the idea of unknown, even if it makes you go a little haywire. Step out of your comfort zone.

Create. Create. Create! Paint and make music, dance at midnight in the moonlight. Make sure something always moves you. Embrace your passion, work and create.

Turquoise hair blowing in the breeze, stomach flips into mermaid dreams

JUST DO IT!

Step out in the streets clad in your favourite katan sari and fresh confidence. Sprinkle cherry flavoured perfume over yourself and just do it. Cat walk to your most preferred salon and ask to get the silliest, boldest hairdo you can dream off. Break the rules, ignore the smirks and just go for it!

Opt for Bubbelgum pink or streaks of gothic purple. Maybe  Bangs like Zooey Deschanel or maybe a chic looking bob? Embrace your wildness and unleash your mermaid waves of vivacious shades.

ZOOMING THROUGH CANDYFLOSS SKIES

Travel within the country, outside the country — travel to the other side of your own city! Observe the colours, the people and their works, observe their laughter, the kindness in the eyes of a stranger. Observe nature and your surroundings— the curve of roads and bends of hills, the perfect emerald grass and neon yellow butterflies. Drink in to the diversity. Save up and travel as much as you can. You will not regret it. Take sun-drenched Polaroid and road-trips leading to nowhere. Let the wanderlust devour you!

FALL IN LOVE

Be a dreamer, be a little unhinged and give a touch of rosy romance to everything you see. Do not just fall in love, be in love and stay in love. Write love letters and wait for your loved one clad in a 'neel sharee' holding on to the 'borshar prothom kodom phool.'

Celebrate love; cry and live alongside it. Enjoy the intimacy and the innocence. Fall head over heels without any boundaries; attempt to get the moon and feel agitated when you cannot. Embrace the lunatic within you. Embrace the romantic within you.

As you grow up, life will keep throwing mundane things at you, dull electricity bills, tax papers and monotonous office parties. So, until that time, invite love and rush and romance into your life as much as you can and dwell within it.

FOR THE PEOPLE

The twenties are a great time for self-discovery and for dipping your toes in new exotic experiences, however the energy and zeal you carry within your bones should also be used for the ones around you, for constructing a better society, a brighter tomorrow. Participate in voluntary work, go green and do something for the environment.

Do not just think about being successful and attaining a lot of wealth; thrive and grow and leave a mark.

Photo: Collected