So the other day in class we’re all talking about getting older. The dreaded subject we all speak about in some class or another. We cut our lives up into 3-5 year segments and reflected on where we’ve been and where we see ourselves going.

Think about it yourself.

Isn’t it funny some of the things we used to value or think were important?

There was a time where my pog collection was the stuff of legends, when one-on-one time with my Nintendo 64 was more important than time with a good friend.

Or how about the times that have defined us?

One of my biggest memories from my adolescence is when my mom let me stay up and watch Robocop with my dad, my first R-rated movie at the age of eight! Nowadays my best memories are larger conglomerations of events, like my summer as an Orientation Leader or years as an RA.

Have you ever thought about how the world around us really shapes who we are? The only historical event I could gather from the ages of 12 – 16 was the release of Batman Forever and the original Playstation. These days, I’m constantly challenged how to respond to events like Katrina and the war in Iraq.

But here I am in a graduate level class and everyone is saying just how much they can’t wait to grow up. Sure school has enough pressures; who isn’t sick of Starbucks laden all-nighters and emulating a factory the way we churn out papers on a weekly basis?

Trying to stay healthy amidst the chaos of our weeks is also too much; who doesn’t know the name of the Wendy’s cashiers working at 11p.m. every night?

Of course there’s also trying to either handle or develop a relationship; though I can’t imagine having to “report back to HQ” like my friends do during our all-night Halo 3 games with their girlfriends, I can’t even begin to approximate the amount of mental energy I expend reading into the body language and words that just about every woman makes in my presence.

What I’m trying to say here is, what’s the rush? I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid and I’m dang proud of it.

I don’t want an iPhone constantly ringing with appointments and meetings, suit jackets for every day and weather condition, a girl that chains me down and rolls her eyes every time I get my monthly shipment of comics, or counting how many calories are on my double bacon cheeseburger.

We’re in college everyone!

Just a few years ago you were at prom, got your first car, or had your first kiss (for some of us, maybe not so long ago).

What’s the motivation to getting older? We’re all like those 5th grade girls that wear makeup and gossip on the playground rather than just getting dirty and playing kickball with the rest of the gym class.

We all know statistically we’re more apt to be financially successful because of our college degrees. The time will come where we’ll be rolling along in our Lamborghinis, popping collars of our Armani suits, and have kids playing in the backyard of our mansions as we sip Cristal.

For now, let’s all relax.

Stay up all night with your buds and watch some TV. Go out to a club with all your ladies. Post some wacky pictures on your Facebook profile. Watch Southpark or some other random cartoon.

We’re still young and still have time to enjoy our youth. Let’s let the future unravel in its own time and not try too hard to push it along.

Greg Chick ([email protected]) is ignoring his gradually receding hairline.