i've got a box full of letters

I was born 22 years ago today. So i'd thought i'd use my birthday as
an excuse to expound upon my thoughts on age and my limited experience with
it. Well, compared to people older than me. Yeah, i'm a comedy genius.

I think it was in my senior year of high school when i really changed my perspective on age. It was really a reactionary thing to all the typical "what are YOU doing after school?" bullshit. i felt that i really had no idea what the fuck i wanted to do the year after school, much less for the rest of my life. I saw all these kids-yes, thats what we all are at that point, kids-going and spending thousands of dollars of thier parent's money on an education, something that's meant to be responsible for the direction of the rest of thier lives. I suppose that's not a negative thing for some people, but i digress. My point is, it's unacceptable to me to have to make a decision like that at an age of 17 or 18, all the while dealing with the pressure of...well, just being that age. I thought..and i still think, what's the damn rush? I think a passage from the book "Fight Club" deals with what i'm
trying to say. Paraphrased:

When I graduated high school, i asked my dad what i should do.
He said, "Go to college."
When I got my degree, i asked him, "What next?"
He said, "Get a job."
After i got a job, i asked him again.
He said, "Get married."
At this point, I'm a 30 year old boy.


We're being pushed through 'curriculum' for the first part of our lives, and when we are given the chance to be free from it for the first time, most of us are just choosing to continue that.

Since i've just decided to ignore what is expected of most people with my intelligence and prospects, I've really felt like i can just take my time with whatever it is that i'm going to do.

Or maybe i'm just going to punch the next person who looks at me funny when i say thati'm 22 and not in school right now.