I DON'T WANNA GROW UP

I'm a Toys R' Us kid. OK, not really but anyone else remember that jingle? Well, if you did, 2 points for you.

So I'm 21 years old. and loving life. I have no girlfriend (by choice kind of right now), I have minimal responsibilities and above all, I have a set of friends who share my feeling of living life to the fullest right now. So why would I want to grow up and risk losing that? Yea, there's a chance to be a dad or make lots of money and start a career but really, getting older just seems like a bad idea.

So what made me think of all this? Well, in the USA Today, there was a study about how the 18-25 age group should not be considered "adults" yet. That's according to Moms, Dads AND the 18-25 age group themselves. All felt like the group is still learning how to truly become an adult and that it is an experimentation phase in one's life. One so-called expert felt like the age group should be called the "emerging adult". He felt like young adult was too vague. The study was quite funny (and predictable) and sparked a conversation between my dad on I during the trip up to Brew City, USA (Milwaukee, WI).

(Quick aside: This story in the paper was right next to another story that had a headline that read "Study: Young adults now find porn more acceptable". Well, duh)

So we talked about how I didn't wanna graduate and how I should embrace my college years. It was brief but interesting. Then, we got to my sister's place and headed to a Milwaukee bar. And that's when it kinda hit me. I was sitting there, watching my 25-year old sis dance the night away with all of her grad school friends, celebrating the end of finals (and classes in general for some like my sister). At that point, I told myself, man, I don't wanna leave this age. I mean, 18-25 is that time to just let it loose. Do what you want. Have fun. I mean, what could be better?

You know, being a tour guide and PreCollege advisor, I always emphasize this to those students. Embrace your college years. Don't let them just be another 4 years of your life. And looking back at my 3.33 years, I think I've done a helluva job. Yea, there have been regrets (few) but man, overall, it's been a great ride. Made great friends. Done things I never thought I would. Gone places I never thought I'd go. Heck, I've even been in a commercial. So no, I don't wanna leave college. No, I don't wanna grow up and see the real world. I'm just not feelin it now.

But you know what's funny...as I was thinkin all of this, a 40-something woman came to the bar where my Dad and I were sitting watching my sister have the time of her life. She looked at me and asked me if I wanted to dance. I politely said no. I mean, come on, I already hate dancing and then with someone her age, I think not. So once I declined, she turned to my dad and asked. Without hesitation, my dad said "Sure".

That's right. My 54-year old, married dad got up and danced with this random lady. He only had one beer in him so I couldn't attribute his behavior to intoxication. NO, his behavior was one of spontaneity. It was like he knew I was thinkin that I don't wanna grow up...so he countered that with "hey, I'm 54 and dancing like a fool just like these twenty-somethings". And just like that, my thoughts of not growing up began fading away. I mean, my dad looked like a fool out there. Let's just say Alex Hitch would not be proud. But my dad was just being innocent, having fun, and treating this lady to one dance at a bar that was filled with college-age students. It was the right thing to do...not just for him or her, but for me.

You know, I do enjoy college and still am afraid of the real world. But watching my dad hit the dance floor numerous times at the bar, I'm not nearly as scared as I was. I've always tried to model myself after him and after tonight, if I can do what he did at the age of 54, then I will be having just as much fun as I am having right now at age 21. And that's saying a lot.