At That Age

I can tell that I'm maturing because last night I brought a bottle of Chardonnay to a house where the boys were placing bets on whether one could chug a beer in 7 seconds. I could not have been less interested in the precedings and thus considered myself an official adult at that moment. Believe it or not there once was a time when I thrived in such activities. Chugging, Shot-gunning, beer bonging, you name it! Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to pour an upside-down margarita down your throat, and in no way, do I think that I am above a good old-fashioned beer pong game. However, at that particular moment, I wasn't impressed with the fact that someone could perform a seven second chug. Maybe if it was done in six.

There are many things in life that I once thought were cool that I just can't wrap my head around anymore. In high school I remember sneaking out during the day for the sole purpose of smoking a cigarette. I now look back thinking that I probably didn't look as cool as I felt as I puffed away at that cancer stick. My little way of rebelling against the evil parents and teachers that were trying to educate me (how dare they!). Furthermore, why wasn't my ungrateful ass sitting in school and paying attention like the rest of the kids. I actually saw the valedictorian of my graduating class the other week. Instead of my continuous effort to misbehave, he directed his energy towards getting a free ride to an upstanding university. He ended up graduating in four years with an M.A. in Accounting and a job. Now who's having more fun... ehh still me probably, but at least he is sitting smugly in his cubicle as I scatter through careerbuilders.com.

Yet I'm not sure if I regret my adolescent shenanigans. There's an age-old competition between the worth of book smarts versus street smarts, I think it is important to have a heatlthy balance of both. Today's society pretty much requires you to have a bachelor's degree unless there's a pretty damn good reason not to, i.e. your high school start up blew up. After all, millionaires are allowed to be drop outs. On the flip side however, understanding the fundamental principles of Copernicus will not help you talk your way into closing a business deal... or really closing any deal. Wink, wink. Thus, it is vital to mix up your studies with continuos doses of life experience. Have we learned nothing from Ms. Frizzle and her psychadelic Magic School Bus?

Besides for the fact that Ms. Frizzle liked to go green in several ways, she was known for encouraging her students to do three specific things: "take chances, make mistakes, get messy." She understood the value of learning beyond what was written in her schoolbooks, even if it was only because she refused to support the evil bank accounts of big business that pumped out new editions every year. Frankly I wished I had more teachers like Ms. Frizzle, encouraging me to explore this beautiful world we live in. When I was fifteen in my most confusing of high school stages, I could have used her wise words and compassion. Even if her skewed fashion sense would have most likely encouraged that hiddeous hemp that was strung around my neck. At the end of the day, her students walked away not only gaining a scholastic lesson, but a life lesson as well. Yet I must accept that no school district can afford to send their third grade classes on a field trip through the human digestive system to learn how the body functions, after all, we are in a recession.

Growing up is a tricky thing. One day you're a third grader thinking that life's biggest hardship is figuring out how to extend your bedtime, next thing you know, you're a teenager figuring out how to extend your curfew. As I sat there last night, watching bros take cheap beer to the face, I did feel a bit of nostalgia about my college experience. I met hundreds of fun and interesting people, partied hard, even got a few nights of studying in. :) And even though it would be nice to tell prospective employers that I can crunch numbers like Count von Count on crack, I wouldn't change one single thing.

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