By Alex Lombardo
I used to be a child. Now I’m just immature. And society is to blame.
Does turning 18 really make you an adult? I can’t even grow a mustache yet I’m expected to know how to file my tax returns and balance my checkbook but I don’t know the first thing about it. I’ve never taken care of a child but I have to take care of myself in college and I’m not sure it’s going to be that easy. Maybe my childhood went by too quickly or maybe I just wish it wasn’t over. Whatever the reason, I don’t want to grow up – plain and simple.
I think back to the days when I couldn’t wait to have more than one teacher in a day and I now wonder if the pressure of high school is worth the responsibility. It’s easy for someone to say they want to live on their own and be independent and free but when it comes down to it, when you finally realize the free ride is over, it gets way too serious.
I like having mommy and daddy buy my clothing. I like spending all my money on barbeque sunflower seeds and cherry Mountain Dew Slushies rather than the bills that pay to heat a house or provide it with running water.
Now all I hear is, “apply to college. Stop spending your money, start saving your paychecks, apply for student loans.” These are all sentences I hate hearing because with each one comes a new source of stress in my life. I mean don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to get out and start my own life where I’m free and independent but under a certain light it doesn’t seem to be everything I thought it would. Why is adulthood so full of responsibilities and so lacking in fun?
Whoever said the days of running barefoot through the yard catching fireflies under the florescent summer moon has to end when you graduate high school? Those memories of complete relaxation and comfort are the definition of living in the moment. And don’t adults tell each other all the time to do just that. I loved when I was a child and I didn’t have a worry in my concentrated head. I just went where I wanted and did what I felt like.
As for now I can’t say for sure where I will end up or what the future has planned, but I can say for sure that wherever I do go and how old I become I will never completely let go of the child that still lives inside of me.