Congratulations! You’ve officially reached the most sought after milestone that our young adult lives have to offer. Well, 16 is pretty monumental because you can operate a big machine that can take you anywhere in the world. 18 is cool too; it signifies independence from mom and dad as you head off to college (which can be both terrifying and liberating, depending on who you are). But 21… now that’s like getting your 3000th hit in Major League Baseball.
Impersonating your friend’s older sister or your brother at the bar becomes a thing of the past. You’ll find yourself secretly hoping for every bouncer to question your ID, allowing you to spit out your address faster than you can say your simple multiplication tables (and may God have mercy on the bouncer who says the magic words, “Um, I don’t think this is you”). I guarantee you’ll threaten to call 911, the Coast Guard, and FBI on the problem because today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life you’re officially an adult. After witnessing all my friends turn 21 and turning the big 21 myself, it only feels right that I shed a little light on what life was and what it will become for us in the future.
Turning 21 is a fresh and exciting time because everyone older than you claims that, “the entire world is in front of you!” or, “you’ve got plenty of time, don’t worry!” There’s one thing in this world that I know for sure, however, and it’s that time keeps on moving. Trust me, I’ve tried to slow down the process before but it just doesn’t work (on second thought, it seems to move even faster when I’m not focusing on it). On those days when you’re sitting idly in the bleachers and staring at that big blue & green Earth don’t get too comfortable, because we really don’t have all the time in the world. Acquiring 21 years of age contributes to the foundation of a different sense of self.
Something will click the day after you’ve spent the entire night laying on the bathroom floor, your friends vigorously snapping photos of you furiously vomiting into a toilet. You’re suddenly not a kid anymore. You start to notice certain people looking up to you, school becomes less of an ambiguous formality, and most importantly: everyone around you is growing up as well. The days you spend sitting in bed under the covers watching Netflix or playing video games aren’t your “free days” anymore, they are what mature people consider “wasted days.”
Let’s assume you live to be 79 years old. We’ll also assume that you spend 1 day (realistically) a week doing things that benefit no one and bring marginal happiness into your life (AKA- a “wasted day”). In those 79 years of life aside from the approximate time spent sleeping (23 years and 4 months), eating/drinking/preparing meals to eat (4 years and 6 months), working (8 years and 9 months), driving (3 years), enjoying forms of entertainment (7 years and 5 months), tending to household chores (4 years and 9 months), caring for the needs of loved ones (1 year and 6 months), using the bathroom for hygienic needs (1 year and 10 months), and going to religious events or taking extra classes (1 year and 11 months), you are left with a total of 22 years and 6 months left to do whatever you please. While still assuming you spend 1 day a week wasting your time, go ahead and subtract another 7 years and 6 months. That leaves you with 15 years to do as you please.
According to Jane Piirto, The Ten Year Rule states that one should study a certain domain for 10 years of waking life with approximately 10,000 repetitions in order to be coined an “expert” at said domain. Mastering one skill will require 2/3 (or 66.67%) of your remaining time. You are now left with 5 years, or 1,825 days, or 43,800 hours. Where were you five years ago? What were you doing? What were you thinking?
Now come back to today and ask yourself, “how different is my life?”
Five years, in the grand scheme of life, really isn’t that long. Does it actually seem like we have, “plenty of time”?
Being 21 is incredibly fun, but more than anything it is a responsibility. Graduating from college is around the corner, and that also means marriage and children are within reasonable sight. It’s time to put the Gameboys away, reshape your résumé, and hop on the autobahn of life. If you’re not careful, life might just pass you by.
