When Wisdom is Not in the Wrinkles

You know what’s wild?

Growing up!

Not the paying-bills kind, but the thoughts-you-once-had-that-make-you-cringe-now kind of growing up. Like, remember when we used to think adults had it all figured out? LOL. Turns out, half of them are just winging it , only with more expensive mistakes.

As a kid, I thought life was a checklist: school, job, marriage, house, done. But it’s more like assembling furniture you ordered from Amazon, without instructions, upside down, and sometimes blindfolded.

Every day slaps you with something new: a life lesson, a humbling moment, or a “wait… I was so wrong about that” epiphany. And I simply love it.

That’s the magic of growth, realizing that unlearning is just as important as learning. You start seeing things differently: your parents, your friends, your old opinions.

Things that once triggered you now just make you go, “Ah, there’s a deeper story here.”

And oh — the best part?

I now laugh (and sometimes cry internally) at people who grow old but never grow up. You know the type: stuck in their ways, allergic to new ideas, proudly waving the flag of “I’ve always been like this.”

Wisdom isn’t handed out with age , it’s earned through openness, empathy, and uncomfortable truths. It’s in how often you’ve questioned your own thinking, and in the moments when you’re brave enough to admit you didn’t know better before. Wisdom doesn’t follow time , it follows insight.

And honestly, I fear growing old more than growing up, because age without growth is just stagnation dressed in grey.

Life, to me, is a classroom, window seat secured, snacks in tow, and always learning.

And if you’re not learning, my friend… what are you doing?

~QuratulAin Hamza