Saturday
Sep262009
Maturity as An Option?
Nina Say
“I’m gonna be a lawyer,” a friend of mine who is graduating high school this year joked with me when I asked him about his college plans. “And because of my nose, I’ll tell people I am a jew.”
Of course, he didn’t mean it. (He thinks he’d be an awful lawyer, and I doubt he would have the patience to deal with whiny court people anyway.) The conversation continued, and he told me he had a vague sense of what he wanted to do, and I replied with my vague sense of the same.
I’ve been “in college” for about two years now. This means that I take lots of general education classes and try to figure out what the hell I want to do with my life. Of course, I have an idea of what would be a satisfying career, and I have a major, but I have no plans on acting upon those anytime soon for a very simple reason:
I don’t want to grow up.
I’m sure there are those of you who remember the old Toys ‘R’ Us theme song about this, but let me assure you that this is sincere. While I am quite aware of my body’s aging, my mental process is far from that of a mature adult, and I like it that way. I don’t mind going to school (I’ve been doing it most of my life) but the concept of getting a “real” job, leaving the safety zone of my already-awkward social life and accepting true responsibility is downright scary. Moving out can be bad enough, with annoying roommates, no real set rules (or chores) system, and having to pay for everything yourself, but even then you can have the safe haven of acting like a kid around the people you live and go to school with. (In my experience, they will probably act like this, too, anyway.)
There is an xkcd comic that describes this perfectly, but I don’t remember which one it is, and I can’t be bothered to find it.
A female friend of mine sent me a message that asked, “What are you doing after college?” I admitted that I have no real plans, just a sense of impending doom. She laughed and agreed-she doesn’t want to grow up either, and I know for a fact that she and I aren’t the only ones.
As a matter of fact, this tends to be a disturbing trend among people I know from ages 15 to 30. I say “disturbing” because that’s what I know the papers would say. In reality, I am completely fine with acting exactly how I did in high school: wasting my time and spare money, having petty arguments, gossiping with my girls, and beating up all the boys. Lots of people I know are still completely immersed in their soap opera lives. (Honestly, do people even go to work on soap operas? How many of them even have jobs?) Very few have taken that leap of maturity, and those who have haven’t had a very good time about it, with people refusing to be their friends because “they’ve changed!” on top of the other responsibilities they’ve accepted. That’s a good enough deterrent for most people, to whom loneliness is the ultimate sin, and therefore growing up is the most hated thought.
It makes me wonder about the future, though. I know there will be an uncomfortable point when I am forced to grow up, and I don’t really look forward to it’s coming. It looms in the distance, and I know I’m getting closer to it. The question is, how will the people who have refused to mature like an old toy store theme tells them not to react when reality smacks them in the face?
Of course, he didn’t mean it. (He thinks he’d be an awful lawyer, and I doubt he would have the patience to deal with whiny court people anyway.) The conversation continued, and he told me he had a vague sense of what he wanted to do, and I replied with my vague sense of the same.
I’ve been “in college” for about two years now. This means that I take lots of general education classes and try to figure out what the hell I want to do with my life. Of course, I have an idea of what would be a satisfying career, and I have a major, but I have no plans on acting upon those anytime soon for a very simple reason:
I don’t want to grow up.
I’m sure there are those of you who remember the old Toys ‘R’ Us theme song about this, but let me assure you that this is sincere. While I am quite aware of my body’s aging, my mental process is far from that of a mature adult, and I like it that way. I don’t mind going to school (I’ve been doing it most of my life) but the concept of getting a “real” job, leaving the safety zone of my already-awkward social life and accepting true responsibility is downright scary. Moving out can be bad enough, with annoying roommates, no real set rules (or chores) system, and having to pay for everything yourself, but even then you can have the safe haven of acting like a kid around the people you live and go to school with. (In my experience, they will probably act like this, too, anyway.)
There is an xkcd comic that describes this perfectly, but I don’t remember which one it is, and I can’t be bothered to find it.
A female friend of mine sent me a message that asked, “What are you doing after college?” I admitted that I have no real plans, just a sense of impending doom. She laughed and agreed-she doesn’t want to grow up either, and I know for a fact that she and I aren’t the only ones.
As a matter of fact, this tends to be a disturbing trend among people I know from ages 15 to 30. I say “disturbing” because that’s what I know the papers would say. In reality, I am completely fine with acting exactly how I did in high school: wasting my time and spare money, having petty arguments, gossiping with my girls, and beating up all the boys. Lots of people I know are still completely immersed in their soap opera lives. (Honestly, do people even go to work on soap operas? How many of them even have jobs?) Very few have taken that leap of maturity, and those who have haven’t had a very good time about it, with people refusing to be their friends because “they’ve changed!” on top of the other responsibilities they’ve accepted. That’s a good enough deterrent for most people, to whom loneliness is the ultimate sin, and therefore growing up is the most hated thought.
It makes me wonder about the future, though. I know there will be an uncomfortable point when I am forced to grow up, and I don’t really look forward to it’s coming. It looms in the distance, and I know I’m getting closer to it. The question is, how will the people who have refused to mature like an old toy store theme tells them not to react when reality smacks them in the face?
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