Growing Up

I think the biggest part of growing up involves being able to recognize that no man is an island. We all think that once we leave the nest and become independent that we've become adults. I've learned that that is usually not the case. That's why I left the nest, fucked up a bunch of times, and decided to come back with some encouragement from my family and friends. I'm 24 now and living back at home and am not at all embarrassed to say so. With the way the economy is going it's probably a decent plan for the next year anyway. I cherish being around my family because those days are numbered. And I cherish being back in the area I grew up in. It brings back great memories and I love seeing familiar faces. The more I think about it, I may never leave the Philadelphia area. I can see myself spending the rest of my life here. The people are genuine, hard-working, and passionate. I've decided that teaching (and writing on the side) is likely to be my career path as I believe it is a great way to give back to the community and mold future generations. When I was a bike messenger in D.C. I thought it was a great way to interact with the community too, but there was no way I was going to do it forever. It's too damn dangerous. I had enough close calls with traffic in the four months I did it that I had to hang my helmet up. I'm attracted to danger in a sense, but I'm not that crazy. The job taught me a lot though and it made me fall in love with the city, even though I rant about the politicians all the time. Anyway, I just thought I'd pass a few thoughts along about growing up as there was an article in "The New Yorker" not too long ago about how my generation is either returning home to their parents or going back to school after finishing undergraduate degrees. It's an interesting phenomenon and I think the bottom line is that kids these days are reexamining their direction in life at an earlier age and not immediately jumping into a career they are not entirely sure about. It's like we're all having mid-life crises at 22 or 23. I know I feel that way sometimes, but it helps focus your judgment on what moves you want to make with your life and where they will ultimately take you. The pursuit of happiness is whatever you make it to be.