Of maturity.

Being mature doesn't always correlate to age, but it is a good place to start. With time we grow, and our knowledge of ourselves and the people around us becomes more clear. Some people do this faster and some slower. We inevitably find that we surround ourselves with people who are not the same age but the same maturity as ourselves, for maturity gives us a level of understanding and the ability to enjoy each other. When we find someone who lags behind us or leaps forward in maturity we often find ourselves annoyed by our lack of understanding.

If you fall behind be cautious and strive to keep up while with those more mature than yourself, otherwise you may wake to find yourself alone and cast out from the group. Maturity isn't always something you change but you can choose when it is inappropriate to act in certain ways. For instance if you are at a party and everyone else is drinking modestly, follow suit and don't hit the bottle. The people around you may take care of you but they will resent you for your initial decision, and the discomfort you caused them.

And if you can't keep up, don't go. It is the easiest way to stay out of trouble and to remain friends of those who are ahead of yourself.

Unfortunatly to do this requires the maturity to understand your own limits. It is the sad fact that sometimes you need something in order to gain more of it. But without maturity you cannot progress, perhaps this is why we gain this type of wisdom with age and experiences, and we all must falter and learn the harsh reality that our actions reflect our decisions, and it is our actions that people remember far beyond the words we may utter now.

And maybe this is one of the hardest lessons we learn when we grow up, because this requires us to make mistakes and recognize that it was our decision that caused our failures. But even harder is to change your behaviour so that you don't make the same mistake twice. When you can do that, regardless of what is easier, then you have learned that being mature isn't always easy and it isn't always fun, but it is essential to being an adult.