Growing up is unavoidable; our days of beer bonging, house parties, and dancing on furniture are numbered. As much as we may want to hold on to the feeling that we’re still in college and can totally hang, there will come a day when we realize that we just can’t. It’s a strange feeling when it hits you; one minute you’re young and reckless and the next you’re too old for this shit. The epiphany can happen anywhere. I’ve been struck with it a number of times, like the moment I realized I would rather be sitting on the couch with a beer and a few close friends than out at a bar being pushed around by a bunch of drunk youths. Or, when I walked into my first party as a fifth year senior and realized that college had suddenly become high school and I was the adult. These were all small moments though that I managed to shrug off. No one wants to get old. So, instead I convinced myself it was just the night and clung even harder to my freshman year self.
Unfortunately, you can only do this for so long before you’re hit with the whammy of all the wake-up calls. The other night I went out to the bars with a friend who is also recently graduated. As the bouncer checked our IDs I searched the crowd for someone we may know, which turned out to be no one. A few minutes later we had made our way to the back of the bar and were standing in the bathroom line talking when a girl came up beside us and decided to pick a fight. She believed me to be under 21 and as a result felt entitled to cut in front of me and my friend. In any other situation I would have been flattered by her comment about my age, but unfortunately a bar isn’t exactly the place where you want to look like you’re under 21. I politely informed her that I was in fact over 21 and had even graduated from college a week ago. I was shocked to receive no congratulations from her on my four and a half years of academic achievement. Instead she looked at me and said something along the lines of “Oh, you areeee.” Standing there with a full bladder in a one-on-one face off with a girl who appeared to be only 21 herself, I found myself finally ready to leave college behind.
Stunned by the high school-like fight and overwhelming feeling that I was too old for this shit I missed my chance to seize the bathroom when it opened. Regina George and her minions walked in instead and shut the door in my face. I looked back at my friend and couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the entire night and the fact that we were probably the oldest people there. It seemed like we had aged ten years in one night, but surprisingly I was OK with that. College was fun while it lasted, but it wouldn’t be nearly as special if it lasted forever. Everyone says it’s the best four years of your life and that may be true, but I’m not going to linger on that forever. It’s time to move on and start going to bars with people my own age.
