It’s what we have been waiting for our whole lives: to grow up. Wanting to be the big boss man in whatever job you work and live a happy life like you see most adults. What adults don’t tell you when you’re young is that you have to go through a lot of shit before you are the boss of anything: shit in your personal life, at work, problems with school (for some of us), and especially money problems. I know this may not hit home for some of you readers, but for most out there I feel like we have gone through some of these hard times to make it where we are now. Of course we would all love to go back to those grade school days where the only thing we had to worry about was the next school we had to face in football or who we were going to try to talk to at those weird dances, but the reality is we don’t Benjamin Button in life. We grow up and get old and wrinkly. All the old people in the world have dealt with it. I think we can too.
When I used to think about growing up, all I thought about was how I could do whatever I wanted all the time. I wouldn’t have to listen to dumb parents tell me I can’t ride the hover round in Wal-Mart. I wouldn’t have to ask them to drive the car. I wouldn’t have to ask them to do anything. Well, now I ask them how to do my taxes and why can’t I just put dishwasher soap in the washer instead of detergent. You know, the hard questions. What I didn’t think about was the fact that I would not be with all my friends and family the rest of my life. We have to make choices. Choices mean consequences, and some of those consequences are hard to handle. But the hardest choices in life can lead to the best outcomes.
I chose to move to South Bend for work. It has been hard not knowing anyone and going through the paces of day-to-day work. I can no longer go to Woodland bowl for 25 cent games. I can’t go to colts and pacers games on weekdays. I can’t do all the things I loved to do back in Indy now. But I know that it was the right choice for my future, and those that care about me know that too. I am able to wake up, go to work, and hopefully make someone’s day a little brighter. Being an adult is not easy. It’s hard work. But adulthood, at least to me, has been rewarding so far.
Parents don’t tell you that sometimes they don’t know what the hell they are doing either. Life is a learning experience. I want to give props to all of you out there who are on the come up. The struggle is real right now, but hopefully in the future we can all look back and say it was worth it.
- Challenges Begets Change - November 4, 2014