22 and Feeling Old

I am invincible.

Used to be invincible.



+/- 5 years ago, I was Super(wo)man, Mrs Incredible, Batwoman etc - all the super heroes put into one with unbelievable power. I believed that I can cut down a tree by a mere swipe of my pinkie, I believed that if I jumped down the Niagara falls, I'll emerge unspoiled from the roaring waters below, I believed that I could walk through fire, swim through ice and nothing short of God's power is beyond me.



Well, really that was all just a metaphor. But the truth is, I still thought I was pretty darn indestructible.



So I would go and do all the nasty boyish things like camping in Perak's tropical rain forest, including SOLO camping mind you (and not showering for 4 days in a row or something), I would go kayaking from Lumut to Pulau Langkawi, I would go roast in the sun (yes, I was uninformed back then) in Redang, I would go Bungee jumping in New Zealand (actually, this isn't true), I would go for camping trips in the crazily cold winter in South Africa (and of course NOT bring enough clothes)...

In short, the more danger that is involved, the more I will crave it.

However.

Fast forward to the 22 year old me - life has turned round to show that I am not invincible after all.



I have a scrape at my left knee from 3 weeks ago and it is STILL there, I twisted my wrist about then too and it is STILL hurting, my right knee, although much better from the time I went for the operation, still represents a hard fall back to reality that indeed, my body's reparative system is slowly but surely starting to decline.



Now, when I think of camping, the first question I will ask is : Is there air conditioning?

When the oppurtunity for bungee jumping arises: I will ask: What if I get retinal detachment?

When my friends suggest a weekend away at the beach, I will think: Will I get skin cancer?

When someone tells me to go extreme cliff jumping, I think: Darn, I'll get a subarachnoid haemmorhage.

Suddenly life revolves around trying to keep myself healthy and avoiding breaking any bones because now I know that it takes forever to get better (even with specialist help). Now I know that accidents happen and can happen to you. Now I know that if you don't take care of yourself, no one else will.

And to top it off, my adrenal glands are probably overworked due to the many times I have pushed it to the limit. Nothing short of free falling can give me the adrenaline rush when I am in a theme park, nothing short of extreme sports can get me all excited and scared that my life is going to end. Which I do not do anyway because of fear of bursting an artery in my brain.

Sigh. 22 and feeling old?

Indeed.