When the winter comes we all feel it… the pang seasonal depression, some of
us are alone, some of us are lost, some just unhappy in our situation. When the
winter is here we are left indoors to sit and contemplate all of these
circumstances. Yet, we are also filled with a giddy, childish joy for those
holidays we all love, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, but the years are not
kind to people. As we age, we seem to lose something more valuable than the wisdom
we gain. Is it because we no longer get all the presents or the candy, or is it
that we have done it for so long now, the decorating seems more like a chore,
buying gifts seems like a waste of money, and the holidays appear a cooperate
scheme rather than a joyous occasion.
There it is, us being adults, us being mature, well what fucking good has
that every done? I'm tired of the phrases, the stereotypes, of such phrases as:
"Grow up”, "Welcome to adult hood”, "Act your age.”, "Get a
job, work hard, be a real man/woman." , "You're no longer a
child."
These words aren’t telling me that I am wise, I can take on more
responsibility, I know what’s best for others and for me rather than what I
want, sure that’s all true as you age but what I feel these days is being an
adult is losing joy, playfulness, humor, and creativity. Our society as put
such a weight on being an adult that there is no joy in it any longer, and don’t
anyone dare tell me it’s part of being a fucking adult.
What does it actually mean anyway… the difference between adult and
childhood? We all just assume that its knowledge, knowing right from wrong,
being able to make the difficult decision, gaining more responsibility, etc.
However, I see the title as a stigma. There is nothing grand to adulthood; I
have seen more cruel actions from a grown man than from a child, more judgment,
and more hubris. The truth, as it seems to me, is that this facade of adulthood
creates a crippling illusion of not only entitlement but of burden. I’m in my
twenties most of the time I go on about the good old days of childhood, I’M
STILL A CHILD, and yet I miss when I had less responsibility, less stress, less
of the world bearing down on me and telling me I had to do things a certain
way, and fit into a certain mold to manage my way anywhere through life. I don’t
hate being twenty two, I just don’t like feeling like because I am twenty two I
can no longer have fun. Part of it is the economy for sure, I mean what time do
I have left to have fun when the only way to really be able to afford my own
living is to work 10+ hours a day, but I’m going to go ahead and say that’s
nothing more than an excuse.
I don’t mean to go on and on, however, it’s a touchy subject, I don’t know
how to fix it, I don’t know what to do about the economy, about the government,
about the debt. All I can say is the only way we can get through it is to stop,
for a minute, for ten, and enjoy watching the leaves fall. FUCK, play in the
leaves, blow bubbles, have a snowball fight and go inside to a cup of whipped
cream and hot cocoa. There is nothing so much different in adult hood aside
from knowledge, and responsibility so isn’t it the most important time in our
lives to embrace the childishness of our lives, of the world. When the stress
is bearing down on us, and society has failed us, shouldn’t we feel the right,
the desire, to be children once more, after all it wasn’t the bodies we miss
having, or the house we miss playing in, it’s the feelings we had when we woke
up, the desires to do nothing but play and enjoy every day. To make it simple,
I’m twenty-two and I’m deciding, no matter what the job, to put a little play
back in my life. There is nothing wrong with acting like a child, it doesn’t
make you selfish, nor ignorant, as long as you play like a child and keep the
respect, manners, and knowledge you have learned as an adult.
While I wanted this to sound smart, short and sweet, I rushed it to get it out and I'm sorry but I would love any comments on how you feel on the subject of societies stigma in defining adulthood.
