“Am I ready for the last big birthday of my youth?”
Thursday, May 30, 2002, I turn 21. This officially closes the door on the early years of my life, my childhood, no matter how hard I try to deny it. Amazingly enough, my sixth birthday, pictured at left, was almost fifteen years ago. I still remember that day quite well. And now, I will become a full-fledged adult, more so than when I turned 18. At 21, no one considers you a child anymore, except maybe your mother, because to her you’ll always be her little baby. It’s kind of frightening to be sitting at the end of this particular period in my life, and thinking about the road behind, and the road ahead. When you’re a child, all you want to do is to grow up and be treated like an adult, and do things that adults do. Then when you get there, and you find out that the world isn’t that delightful ongoing bake sale that your parents and television made it out to be. In the real world, there’s bills to be paid, and other important responsibilities to be taken care of. Not like childhood, where all you had to do was make sure to put the seat down when you were finished using the potty. Nowadays I have a college education to finish in about a year, and then life as I know it will end. I’ll leave the house where I’ve spent the last ten years, and go out into the real world, supporting myself, making a name for myself and saving for retirement way down the line in my life. And the fond memory of my childhood will be there, a memory to be cherished, but knowing you’ll never be able to return…
Date posted: May 27, 2002