Last week, two girl friends and I went to The Hawk for a couple of drinks. Yes, it's a freshman bar- anyone with a revealing shirt and an ID can get in. But its one of our favorites. While we all squeezed into a single bathroom- you know girls can't go alone, we heard the girls waiting outside complain, "Jeeze what is taking so long. They are like 25."
Now, I'm not exactly sure if being 25 has anything to do with being slow in the bathroom but the fact they thought we were graduated shocked us (we still had a few days left before graduation and are only 22!). And suddenly, we felt old.
Graduation- bring it on!" Photo: Ability Center
Today, I think about it. I am the oldest of 18 cousins, which means I'm the first to graduate from college. Besides my graduation, this summer two kids turn 21, one turns 16, one graduates from high school and two graduate from eighth grade.
I remember hitting all these milestones in my life: receiving an eighth grade diploma, getting a drivers license at 16, receiving a high school diploma and getting drunk at 21. Now, I am back to getting a diploma and I wonder what comes next.
My cousins don't know because they look at me for answers. I look at my parents and it seems to go: work, marriage, mortgage, kids, debt.
So, I conclude, receiving a diploma and graduating is a gateway to the next phase of your life. This graduation has me looking towards more realistic goals, like finding a
job and a place to live instead of getting a car and taking 21 shots. But that comes from maturity.
By the way, last week, before leaving the bathroom to dance in the "boom boom" room, my friends and I stole the loudmouth's fake ID, while she threw up in the bathroom.
This is the saddest thing in life - the older you get, the more predictable your life is. It's a real challenge to make it interesting rather than boring...