My Own Hero Journey

Golfing was fantastic. I did much better than I thought I would.

What is this feeling inside of me that wants new experiences and adventure and originality? On one hand, it may be the natural growth from childhood to adulthood: the search for a new place and identity in the world. On the other, it may be that I'm tired of living the same old boring life and want something to wake me from this monotony. You can call my old life my childhood, and you can say I want to become a mature, independent adult. Maturation is a process; it's not a magic trick, and it doesn't happen overnight. In our society, there are a few rites of passage that mark maturation: obtaining a drivers license; graduating high school and/or college; living on one's own; getting a job; getting married. Many of these assume maturation because, each to some degree, they levy responsibility on us. But not all drivers are the same, and not all marriage are consummated between responsible individuals. So even if we do all these things, that doesn't mean we're mature adults. Is that okay? Can we survive adulthood without self-dependence and will and solemnity? No, we cannot. So what happens to the person that passes through these stages, but never grows up? I guess what I'm really looking for is a threshold to break into adulthood. But I don't want to be a full adult yet. I'm caught in the middle, somewhere between responsibility and play. That is what irritates me.

The only time I've ever touched snow was when my family and I went up into the mountains when I was seven or eight. Other than that one experience, no, I've not dealt with snow. I could have lived my whole life up to now without seeing snow--and I've never seen snowfall. But why is that so surprising? I don't think many people in tropical regions have seen snow either.