growing up.. rambling
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There was an article in our newspaper this morning, about growing up, or rather, about being a "grown-up". It featured first a guy in his 40s, single and childless, who rock climbs, base jumps, skateboards and skis, and who (handily) has "I don't want to grow up" tattooed on his ankle. Then they had talked to a psychologist who said that this was a growing trend, that people want to stay/feel "young" for as long as possible, and they no longer want to be "grown-up" and boring, unlike teenagers earlier who longed to grow up and attain all the privileges of adults. And he talked about how todays focus on the body has taken over for earlier focus on the soul.
I found this pretty irritating, to tell the truth, and thought-provoking. I didn't like the implication that this guy filling his life with his favourite activities was so that he could feel "young" and have an attractive body, I'm sure he does them because it gives him immense joy and fulfillment (of the soul!), and because all his friends are there. He had a job so he pays taxes, and as far as I'm concerned he is being as responsible an adult as anyone could ask for. Because isn't that what being an adult is about? Taking responsibility, for your own life, your own choices, and the people around you? Having kids magically forces a lot of people to grow up, myself included, but actively choosing to not have children is just as responsible an action. Being an adult should have something to do with accepting that you play a role in society and participating and giving something back, and taking the consequences of your actions and choices, but it shouldn't have anything to do with how you spend your free time. Most "extreme sports" aren't that extreme these days - with a possible exception for base jumping - and I don't see why, say bowling or playing bridge should somehow be a more acceptable choice for an adult than rock climbing or skiing. People that do true extreme sports, with a lot of risk, do have to re-evaluate this when they have kids or a spouse, but they really are a tiny minority.
I'm rambling, I know. But being an adult doesn't have to have anything at all to do with being able to invite 4 couples to dinner and have matching silverware and decent curtains, being "respectable" ie. "boring", and hasn't been for decades. Todays society accepts rockabillies with pointy shoes or tutu-toting divas at 60. ---oops, gotta go, my responsible adult dh has made dinner...
Winter riding is much less about badassery and much more about bundle-uppery. - malkin
1995 Kona Cinder Cone commuterFrankenbike/Selle Italia SLR Lady Gel Flow
2008 white Nakamura Summit Custom mtb/Terry Falcon X
2000 Schwinn Fastback Comp road bike/Specialized Jett