When Does A Boy Become A Man?
I might have the answer now.
Is it when he reaches 18 years or age ? Is it the beard ? Is it the brawn ? Or is it the loss of child like innocence ?
When I was in highschool, I had a friend of mine who was pretty much like any other teenager — Carefree, Oblivious to the harsh ground realities of life and living in his own utopia, created by his loving parents for him.
Parents give us the best of what they can & we find much comforts in the warmth of our homes — in the assurances of our future bread, butter and luxury.
He used to spend his time at home playing video games, toiling on the internet & listening to music, lost in his own carefree world— so much so that his mother would at times bang on his room door tirelessly to call him for dinner only after all her calls from the dinner table had failed. He couldn’t hear her tirelessly calling his name, not with his earphones on and the music blasting out.
In the Autumn of 2012, his Father passed away. Leaving behind a weeping wife and an adolescent boy.
All of a sudden there was no assurance to his future, there was no one to look after. The mother he loved so dearly — a part of her died with his father that day & he could tell.
Worried about his mother, he wouldn’t keep his earphones on, he wouldn’t listen to music at high volumes or to any music at all, he wouldn’t keep his doors locked. So that when his mother would call his name for a meal, she wouldn’t have to trouble herself.
Over the months, he changed. We all could see that. He changed so much that the boy I knew was gone.
He would study for hours, he would do his homework, he would help buy the groceries, he would help his mother with the daily chores. Never put on earphones, never waste his time toiling on the internet, never do anything that would trouble her poor mother.
That is how, infront of my eyes — I saw this boy become a man.
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