Innocence et al.

A very dear friend told me today, " you should really consider moving back to India for you are losing the oh-so-you innocence here". Huh?? I smiled and joked that he just doesn't find me cute any more since he started seeing that skinny girl from west village who wears designer clothes!

On my walk to the subway, I thought - how does a place have anything to do with one's innocence! Or does it? But, I still am friends with the same/similar friends, like the same songs, books and need my solitary long walks just as much I always have. I know, I know - that doesn't prove my innocence (Gee! what have I done wrong? :-D), but I am trying to show the "K"s of my life.
Is it that I am getting too literal here? I clearly think differently from the way I used to when I was thirteen. But, that's called "growing up", isn't it? Hmm, I am becoming more "worldly-wise" or so I would like think. And that, I must admit, was not the most frequent prediction people made about me. And, from that perspective, loss of innocence is not an option really, but more an eventuality of adulthood. But then , may be he does have a point. May be I have just forgotten to find the innocence for me here. May be it has nothing to do growing up or survival. It could be that, just the way our taste, inclinations and personality evolves, so does each of our innocence. Does a different earth beneath your feet and a different sky above your head take away your innocence then or is it something else?