I want to be when I grow up!

I recently stumbled across an article from Rolling Stone Magazine examining the lives of masked adventurers who roam cities fighting crime. (The story can be found here.) The article resonates well, since I have always wanted to be a superhero when I grow up. Now, I have no idea how I am going to realize this goal, but that small fact does not stop me from dreaming about it.

I don't really know that everyone had the same dream as I do, but I know we all had some career path that we believed would be fantastic. What happened to those dreams?

It needs to be noted, I don't want to project a Office Space story. Sure, we all do not have glamorous jobs saving citizens, but most jobs don't seem to be miserable wastes of existence. However, it does seem that our jobs consume our lives. Maybe right now I am not a superhero, but I can still change individuals' lives through acts of kindness after work.

Regardless, I am determined, and encourage others as well, to remember what they want to be when they grow up, and find a way to infuse it into their life. Whether it be a hobby, volunteering, or a second weekend gig, reviving our dreams from nostalgia could bring some extra joy into our lives.

My Secret Passage

I have always wanted a house with a secret passage, though I had forgotten this particular daydream. I want to be able to sneak from my work in the Study to get a snack in the Kitchen. I suppose no one would stop me if I didn't lurk through the walls to the other end of the house, but the opportunity simply sounds fun.

Where did that dream go? It isn't necessarily a secret passage. It could be the awesome treehouse, that has a rope swing and a zipline to the back door of the house; it could be the giant library with thousands of books and those ladders on rails that roll down a wall of shelves. Why don't we think or share those dreams anymore?

I understand that most of us will never get to realize those fantastic dreams, even if we still held fast to them. The logistics of developing and creating them would be complex and expensive, but that fact has never stopped people from dreaming of a Ferrari with permanent lens flair and sparkle parked in their garage. Sure, the passage/treehouse/band of books would not be very useful to modern adults. Still, lack of use doesn't stop us from buying clothing or gadgets which are used twice that clutter our closets and garages.

Do we really lose interest in our grandiose childhood dreams? I don't think so: I think we write them off as silly and childish. But why? These dreams are not shameful. The opposite, they make people smile. Make a point to remember the hidden hallways or the trapdoored treehouses; in fact, maybe even tell a friend.

An Introduction

It is time the adults of today take being a grown-up into their own hands. Rarely is today's youth taught anything about adulthood. Sure, aged stories of the need for increased responsibility in adulthood, garnished with nostalgic recitations of the better days, tossed with the dressing of hope for retirement are frequently passed from a more experienced generation to another, but many are left wondering what meat exists in the metaphorical salad.

Instead of wallowing about the deeper meaning, I say those new to adulthood, or those tired of what adulthood has been, need not worry, because we are grown-ups now, and it is our turn to decide what that means. We need not fall into the common adult routine. It is possible to continue having the same feeling of happiness and fun we had when we were children and adolescents without shirking the responsibility of the real world, and I am determined to prove it.

My inspiration comes from a simple comic created by Randall Munroe at xkcd.com, which can be found here. We have a lot to learn from the young lady.