I wrote this the night before my birthday, but Blogger was down for maintenance and I couldn't post it.
I’m turning 24 in a couple hours.
I can remember when even the idea of being in my twenties seemed like such a far off and foreign concept. I remember dreaming of who I would be, where I would live, what I would be doing.
Now I’m breaking into my mid-twenties and a lot of those unknowns are becoming realities. I’m getting married in just a few months. It looks like I’ll be completing the purchase of my first home next month. I have a job that I enjoy and, overall, a life I like living.
I’ve had a lot of people tell me I’m too young to be making all these moves. A lot of people that are telling me to hold off and “enjoy life” while I’m still young.
But I don’t feel that young. I feel like I’m moving into the part of my life I dreamed about when I was half this age. I can imagine the 12-year-old me saying, “What are you waiting for? This is what we’ve wanted!”
And now that I’m arriving in the place I’ve been pursuing since I was young, I feel like I am exactly where I should be. As if all the years before were to get me where I am today.
Some people see growing up as stages of transition. You were once a child, now you need to stop being a child and start acting like a teenager. Now you need to start acting like a college student. Now you need to start acting like a young adult. Now you need to stop playing around and get married.
But I don’t think growing up is about killing who you were or letting go of your past. It’s about building upon it.
When I was younger, I dreamed of growing up one day and having a career that I was good at, a family that I loved and a life with a purpose. I’ve worked for years to be in the place for that dream to be realized.
Some people want to stay young, avoid responsibility and keep to a place that makes them feel comfortable because they know they can always escape it if they want to. And I get the appeal of that; I understand the benefit of not “tying yourself down” somewhere.
It might be a tempting proposition, but it’s also an empty promise. I’m not about to let prolonged adolescence stand in the way of the vision I’ve had for my life since I was an adolescent.
Don’t get me wrong; I understand that people grow at different rates. And there’s nothing wrong with being single, but don’t keep yourself there in an attempt to hold onto your youth. Don’t limit the possibilities for your life because you’re afraid to step into a place that requires a commitment.
When we are children, we’re captivated by the potential that the future has for us. We fantasize about what we’ll be like when we’re older. And when we get to the place to realize that, we often want to go back to being children so we can keep that reality at a distance.
Getting older doesn’t mean losing that excitement and wonder we had as children. It just means we can finally be the person we once only dreamed about becoming.
I can remember when even the idea of being in my twenties seemed like such a far off and foreign concept. I remember dreaming of who I would be, where I would live, what I would be doing.
Now I’m breaking into my mid-twenties and a lot of those unknowns are becoming realities. I’m getting married in just a few months. It looks like I’ll be completing the purchase of my first home next month. I have a job that I enjoy and, overall, a life I like living.
I’ve had a lot of people tell me I’m too young to be making all these moves. A lot of people that are telling me to hold off and “enjoy life” while I’m still young.
But I don’t feel that young. I feel like I’m moving into the part of my life I dreamed about when I was half this age. I can imagine the 12-year-old me saying, “What are you waiting for? This is what we’ve wanted!”
And now that I’m arriving in the place I’ve been pursuing since I was young, I feel like I am exactly where I should be. As if all the years before were to get me where I am today.
Some people see growing up as stages of transition. You were once a child, now you need to stop being a child and start acting like a teenager. Now you need to start acting like a college student. Now you need to start acting like a young adult. Now you need to stop playing around and get married.
But I don’t think growing up is about killing who you were or letting go of your past. It’s about building upon it.
When I was younger, I dreamed of growing up one day and having a career that I was good at, a family that I loved and a life with a purpose. I’ve worked for years to be in the place for that dream to be realized.
Some people want to stay young, avoid responsibility and keep to a place that makes them feel comfortable because they know they can always escape it if they want to. And I get the appeal of that; I understand the benefit of not “tying yourself down” somewhere.
It might be a tempting proposition, but it’s also an empty promise. I’m not about to let prolonged adolescence stand in the way of the vision I’ve had for my life since I was an adolescent.
Don’t get me wrong; I understand that people grow at different rates. And there’s nothing wrong with being single, but don’t keep yourself there in an attempt to hold onto your youth. Don’t limit the possibilities for your life because you’re afraid to step into a place that requires a commitment.
When we are children, we’re captivated by the potential that the future has for us. We fantasize about what we’ll be like when we’re older. And when we get to the place to realize that, we often want to go back to being children so we can keep that reality at a distance.
Getting older doesn’t mean losing that excitement and wonder we had as children. It just means we can finally be the person we once only dreamed about becoming.
"When I became a man I put away childish things; including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." -C.S. Lewis