Seventeen candles

On the second of July this year, I turned seventeen. Ten years ago, I thought twelve was a big number to reach, seventeen was unthinkably far away. Sweet seventeen represents the start of a new era in my life. Not a child but not yet an adult. The days pass quickly as we grow older, the candles on the cake keep on increasing. Soon, there will not be enough room to fit all of the candles. That's how many years I've been in this world. Although we think time passes slowly. Counting the seconds, minutes in each day, it seems it will be a lifetime before we reach a year. Yet, I've counted seventeen of those years in my short life.

Looking at my Mum, a woman who is nearly forty still dancing around happily in the room. Noticing at her current activity you 'd think she is a little kid waiting to count every star in the night sky. She represents the sole concept that age is but a number. Although we have no control over the effect time has on our bodies, we do have control on how time affects our minds. We age when we choose to age. For some people, that time is never.

Blowing out the candles on my black forest cake while being surrounded by my family and friends reminds me of how beautiful yet short life is. There are the times where the world is dark and hopeless but there are also the moments where candles shine their brightest. Sweet seventeen. Seventeen brightly lit candles creating dim reflections on the living room wall. My friends hint that I'm becoming an old lady. Yes, in some sense I am not getting any younger. I can't tie a string around time and hide it away in my closet so I can stay seventeen forever. But I can choose what to do with the time God has given me. I know that no matter how many candles that will be added to my cake in the years to come, I'll remain a kid at heart.