The twenty fifth notch between the door and the door frame

When I was a young child in Abu Dhabi, I had the uncommon affliction of forgetting how old I was. Everytime someone asked me, I would give the incorrect answer- either above my age or below.This obviously meant that people started to look upon me as a strange kid, one who would call himself 4 years old sometimes, and then a week later would proclaim he was six and a half.

After a year or two of ego crushing, my dad had finally had enough. One day, he came to my room with a knife and told me that I was 4 years old and that from now on at every birthday, he would use a knife to carve one mark in the space between my door and the door frame, the part near the hinges which gets covered up when the door is closed.

If we still lived in that same house today, and if I was still under the inauspices of my childhood affliction, my dad would have placed the 25th notch between my bedroom door and the doorframe, tomorrow.

Its been a ride, it really has. From my 4th birthday when I had a birthday cake as big as a four seater at any fast food restaurant, to the week before my 22nd birthday when my housemate made me realize that I was in fact turning 22, and not 21 as I had thought.

Looking back at it now, you know what I feel is my biggest achievement? The fact that I am not engaged/married. At 25, I am the only person (male or female) in my whole family who has managed this feat. How I have not given into the monthly pressures that are laid upon me to go ahead and 'choose' a girl is beyond me. No one else in many family has managed to stay so resolutely single for so long, and thus, 25 years on from the moment people started planning my marriage, I have maintained my status as the anomaly. The one that got away.

I do not mention this because I have suddenly started to think about marriage, infact that is the last thing on my mind, but someone asked me yesterday what I thought my biggest achievement was, and after a moment's thought, I conjured up an answer that is still making me smile.

At 25, I love that I am free. I have no commitments. I can move anywhere, love anyone, walk into a relationship and walk out soon after if I so wish. This freedom pleases me, because it has not been afforded to many in my family. I am not saying I am happy because I am different, because I have managed to upset, crush, and change the plans of my family, that's not true; I say this because I love my freedom, it is what I enjoy most in life, and it is good to be going forward in the same manner. The way I look at it, why fix something when it's not even broken.

At this age, I have a great job, although on most days you won't hear me say that, but I do have a good job. I do not intend to stay here forever, but its a stepping stone. Many people say this, and never end up moving forward after it, but I have never been one of those people. To me, this is an opportunity, a distasteful one, yes - but an opportunity for better things nonetheless.

Last year at this time, my birthday post was somber, because I was missing home, Paris, my friends and everything about my life. However this year, its a time to rejoice. I still miss my friends dearly but I have also started to make good friends here, and for that I am thankful.

Join me my friends, and formidable foes as I walk into the second quarter of my life. Its good to be 25. Its good to be mature. Its good to not be insecure. Its good to be living life as it is meant to be lived. And most of all, it is good to be the birthday boy.

Happy 25th to me.