So, it has come to my attention that I am old, and that is very sad.
Not old enough to act mature or anything, at least I hope not.
You see, there have been all these tour groups on the campus recently. Some of them are trying to convince the straggling seniors that this awesome place should be there home next year, and some of them are the high school juniors that are just starting their stressful journey of application season.
But what caught me was the group of younger middle schoolers that passed me. They were all trying not to look too excited as the crossed through our dorm area, but every time a skateboarder made the sidewalk clack or a frat boy jumped over them for a frisbee their heads turned as if on a swivel!
My school never took field trips to colleges so I asked Sara, who was with me, what this was all about. "Kids think we college kids are the shiz, don't you remember?"
Um... yes, I do remember. Was that not just yesterday? When did I actually become one of those old kids that walked around looking like they had a handle on what they would be doing for the rest of their lives? Did I really look like those kids I remember, with the strong voice, to-go box, and laptop?
As soon as it hit me I wanted to stop and reassure them. "No, don't worry! I still have no idea where I'll be in four years! I don't have a boyfriend that I'll be marrying! Heck- I haven't even planned dinner yet! Don't freak out- you have time!"
If I look around, I see all the things that I guess aren't anymore. Sailormoon isn't a regular show every morning. Those gell-balloon things aren't on the infomercials. Hello Kitty is RETRO (wtf??) and green ketchup is no longer a magical wonder.
When people tell me I'm part of a generation, I don't think about it much. But when I look down at those middle schoolers and wonder if they were heart-broken the day Looney Toons stopped playing every Saturday morning... I wonder.
And can someone find me the number of Peter Pan? I have a trip involving the second star to the right I think I want to arrange.
Curl Girl, out!
As someone who is, for the moment, a full seven years older than you and still at the same university, let me assure you that I look at not only freshmen, but even senior undergrads (and, frequently, new grad students) with the same questions: was I that stupid once? that arrogant? that naive?
ReplyDeleteHint: hell yes I was. And still am, but about different things.
Which, I have found, after all this time, is kind of the fun: recognize that you don't know what the hell you're doing, and neither does anybody else, so you might as well enjoy it.
[In my day, Gameboys looked like this: http://images.wikia.com/nintendo/en/images/3/32/Gameboy.jpg. No big color screen, no backlight, no pretty purple colored case.]
Edit: clicky.
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