This thing called maturity

As you grow older, it becomes common place to hear people tell you ‘Be Mature’ or ‘Act your age’…and when you don’t, you are labeled ‘spoiled’, 'immature' or, in Nigerian vernacular, ‘an agbaya’. Ever noticed how, everytime you get mad at someone over something that the world considers ‘petty’, people tell you “Be Mature about it…let it go”.?

I think that this thing called ‘Maturity’ is responsible for a lot of pent up negativity that people carry around. In the great words of  Frank Donga (lol) they are ‘tighting the world to their chest’ and biting their tongues and suppressing their emotions in a bid to come across as mature.

Before you flog me for implying that people should get into arguments and fights indiscriminately, please continue reading.

1st, no, I don't encourage a complete lack of decorum or some sense of (for lack of a better word...lol) maturity when handling affairs. And yes, there are so many fights and moments of drama a sensible person should walk away from (either because they ain't got time for that type of sh** or so they can fight another day *hehehe*). However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a person saying exactly how they feel about a person or situation.

Say for instance, there is a person in you office who you can not stand because he/she took a client/report/credit that should have been yours or because he/she is just a classical ITK (I-Too-Know) or for a myriad of other reasons unique to you and your preferences, I do not think that 'maturity' should force you to stay in that person's company, eat with that person or pretend to care about that person. 

A lot of times, in relationships, the concept described as 'lack of communication' is actually a case of two people trying to mature about the way they approach their relationship. They pretend to let a lot of things slide by because they don't want to come across as being petty. Say for instance, your significant other consistently leaves the cup of butter open after breakfast and it is one of your pet peeves, there is the tendency for you to close it everyday for a while, saying to yourself that complaining over an open butter cup would be immature. One day, that frustration is going to eat you up so bad that you will explode and it won't be a pretty sight.

By all means, act your age. By that, I mean, do not still be living with your parents and bringing people of the opposite sex home to sleep over. But this thing we all like to call maturity, can really get in the way of living your life, having fun while doing it and doing away with a lot of pent up anger and negative emotions.