That's right, the big 2-9.
And I have some advice for you young folks.
When I was young like you folks, I had a pretty rough life. My family and I fought, I had very few friends due to my anti-social nature fueled by my fathers constant abuse, and I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.
Throughout high school, I moved from school to school, unable to fit in anywhere, and always being the target of pranks and constant victimization. I fought constantly with my classmates, and in some rare cases, the teachers as well. I had a violent temper, and I was miserable. I had, suffice to say, the most miserable high school years ever. Granted, my grades put me at the top of the class, but even a sour old scholar like me can tell you that book learnin' isn't everything to life.
My first year of college was no better. I had several failed relationships, and my roommate decided to off himself one night in my room while I was at the library. My grades were poor, and I ultimately had to drop out as a consequence for my failing grades.
Understanding that my life was heading in a direction that I did not agree with and want, I signed up for the United States Navy for a six year stint at the age of 19. I went to Great Lakes, Illinois were I trained for 8 weeks to become a sailor. Afterwards, I was stationed in Charleston, S.C. and aboard the U.S.S. Mahan.
During my time in the Navy, I got my academic self back on track and took college classes supplemented by the Montgomery G.I. Bill (for those of you who don't know what this is, it's a fund that takes a small portion of your pay and saves it for college). I continued doing what I loved (Biology and History) while dabbling into interests of mine (A course in basic economics, archaeology, and anthropology). I ended up dropping Biology as a major and went on to take History as a major and Archeology as a minor.
Shortly after my discharge, I met my future wife, and we were married within a year of my discharge. After that, I had several good jobs ultimately wrecked because of my "unorthodox" views, until I came to my current job.
In short, my life has been alot of work and very little play. Moreover, while I have few regrets, I have a very big one: that I never had fun when I could.
You see, when you break the age of about 20, alot of fun ends up going out the window. Issues like fiscal management and responsibility come into play, and concern for your future. You become so wrapped up in these things, you forget what it is like to have fun, and more importantly, to have fun in general. You never get to have those moments of pure estatic fun, charging down a school hallway whooping and hollering because it's the last day of school. You never get to go down to the local ice cream parlor late one night and see that cute girl you had a crush on.
Now that I am older and have missed my chance, I can't do these things. I would like to, but I cannot, due to a social stigma that prevents me from doing so. I cannot do things that a teenager would do and be looked at like "well, he's only trying to have a good time". Instead, I'll be labled as juvenile, or immature. It could hurt my possibility to keep a job, and subsequently get another.
If there is anything that I want you to remember from this post, it's the following:
Remember that you only get one life. You only get one chance at being 17, 18, 19, 20. You only get one chance at living in the year 2007. You only get one chance to live on Monday, March 5th, 2007. Don't waste it like I did, and have fun while you're still able. I would hate to know any of you ended up like me.
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wow...
I'm 16 and its already happening.
" I had an honor of meeting Sensei 6th dan (at the moment when I met her) Mutsuko Minegishi. She started training late in life, and at the age of 65 she was faster and stronger then anyone I met (now she is probably even stronger and faster), plus she was the only person in the dojo who never breathed heavily no matter how long we worked. One of the things she said to us was: "Of course, when a person becomes older body becomes stiffer. So don't get old!"
