So, I have recently come to terms with the fact that all behaviors, and actions come with a sell by date stamped neatly on the bottom in red ink. Everyone has a "timeline" and at certain points on this "timeline" there are dots in different colors telling you when it is no longer acceptable to do said action. The problem that I have is that this timeline is different for everyone. What is good for me at a certain age may be at a completely different age in another person. There are also specific choices in your life that can skew your line. Take your average conservative republican.....their timeline everything starts being unacceptable far before the normal person. Unless he has a lot of money then he can snort coke well into his forties and no one flinches an eye. That is another group that is completely different than the average joe.....famous and rich people. Now you have two different groups of the rich and famous. Group A: The "Role Models" or people who really care about the way their actions affect the people reading Us Weekly, and Group B: The "Dennis Rodmans and Pairs Hiltons" I don't think I really need to expand on what this encompasses.
Group A's timeline and the timeline shown to the public eye are actually quite different. While it should be wrong for them to drink before they are twenty one, many of them still do. It is inappropriate to 'party hardy" past thirty one or thirty two, but yet they still do that too. See the social timeline doesn't apply to Group A based on the fact that they can cure everything with a public apology or trip to the Park City mountains for a little Rehab. We as a public, appreciatetimelines.
Group B however, doesn't care about how people see them basically choose to remain a rebellious teenager into their fifties. I am sure in a boardroom somewhere, possibly salt lake there is a high ranked official in a very important company snorting cocaine of the boardroom table.
Another thing that can change your line is having kids. This TOTALLY changes it. For instance a 21 year old male college student....it is still socially anticipated, if not accepted that he will party 70% of his evenings, catch a LOT of tail, like-a-the football and drink of the beer. Probably live off campus with his buddies if he isn't in a fraternity. Now, take that same 21 year old male and give him a child....changes a bit. Assuming he took the high road and didn't bitch out on the other half of this scenario he isn't going to be doing most things listed above. It won't be acceptable for him to party, other than maybe once a month with his guy friends and would be lucky to be attending college.
I will agree that a lot of these things change by maturity level as well. I think that at some point we in ourselves decide where the different marks on our timeline fall. I am going to go ahead and do something completely out of character for me and quote the bible because this is a quote I have always thought was if nothing else, the one true line in a book full of babble, " When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things."
That being said, I don't think that some people should be allowed to write their own timeline. I have admitted before that I am an against the grain kinda girl, but I think there should be a general timeline agreed upon that will include the following points:
and forgive them stepping outside their
- If you're a girl, you shouldn't be allowed to wear spandex pants past the age of eight
- If you're a boy.....wtf were you doing wearing them in the first place? What is wrong with your parents?
- It is not acceptable to wear character shirts past the age of fifteen (and that is stretching it)
- It is not acceptable to hang out at the mall for hours once you get your drivers license unless you are actually shopping
- Past the age of 22 you really shouldn't be living in your parents basement unless you are pursuing a very expensive college degree and even that that's still pushing it.
- Past the age of 25 it is probably not normal for you to be a "usual" anywhere with blacklighting.
So, that is kinda what I got started. I left out a lot of stuff about social stigmas and hot topic issues on purpose because things are always changing. The major point to this is that at some point everyone needs to grow up. Realistically some will grow up sooner than others, and some people never will. It is just difficult when you feel that you have surpassed some of your friends on the maturity and responsibility scale...especially when they have a few years on you.
Bottom line: As much as we would like to think differently, age IS NOT just a number. Ask yourself what you want your timeline to look like, and I'm not just talking about silly style choices I've listed above. Hang onto immaturity forever and you will never understand the joy of living, feeling, and thinking like an adult.
