The Fountain of Youth Smells Like Beer

I live a couple of blocks east of Westminster College and I often am around the University of Utah (trolling for the innocent no doubt j/k). With school starting up again I have been getting very nostalgic. I love the fact that I am a “responsible” adult and have “left” the stupidity of college life behind. However, I love the smell of youthful exuberance in the air. I love the clearly underage freshmen buying beer at the corner store and piling into an overcrowded car as the campy popo (campus police for those of you who aren’t in the know) watch on. I love to see two kids on skateboards holding on to the side of a car and being dragged at 1am. I love seeing the latest kitschy messenger bags and the latest hats which harkens to college radio indie alt rock. Oh how I love rowdy college football celebrations. I swear at this point I am ready to go back and get my MBA so I can stroll around campus and fully immerse myself in it.

However, it also makes me feel a bit old. Somehow my life has switched from hanging out with people that are older than me to hanging out with a lot of people younger than me. I am now part of the “cool” older guys that we hang out with group. I was at my usual bar, and as I stood in line (first problem) I said to Lindsey, “We don’t own this anymore.” She responded, “I know. Kids do. 21 year olds.” I immediately reacted and said, “21 year olds aren’t kids!” as I still in my mind considered myself apart of that young 20 something crowd. You know, the “as long as you can go to the bar, you’re okay” mentality. However, it got me thinking, and there is a huge difference between my late 20s self and those “first” venturing out to the bar. To add insult to injury I found out that a special someone that I have a kindergarten crush on is in fact 21. I wasn’t planning on going after people younger than me until I was in my 40s.

While I am not to the level of giving up that Lindsey clearly is, I still felt old even though I clearly am not. I am now envisioning the complete meltdown I will be having at my 30th birthday party. In the meantime, I am just going to feed off of this youthful exuberance and revel in the fact that even though I may have a few years on them, I also have more money.