Fountain of Youth

Being a teenager is all about being young, a little bit wild, and a whole lot of free. Teenagedom is the quintessential time to be the best you possible. That means the perfect blend of spontaneous and responsible (in the most young adult of ways). Just because we're in college does not, I repeat NOT give us a free pass to be a bunch of rambunctious idiots. AKA yelling YOLO and then proceeding to do something absolutely foolish is not acceptable. I like to think we can all be better than that. I don't know where you're livelihood comes from but I just take a swig from the fountain of youth.

The word youth is not synonymous with maturity, but everyone (adults, and young people) alike are pretty sure it is. I'm here to prove it wrong. Drinking from the fountain of youth doesn't entail downing jaeger bombs and doing keg stands until you spew alcohol out your ears. It's about being young, as in open-minded, curious, and interested about the world around you. I walk outside everyday wondering about other people, how did they come who they are now, where did they come from, and what makes them tick. I want to inquire about why things are the way they are - why people say the things they say, and how everything just seems to work for no observable reason. There's more to life than what meets the eye and as teens, especially teens in college it's up to us to figure out what the hell is going on. We're more than a bunch of post-pubescent raging alcoholics with serious drug addictions and bestial lust for all this sexual - we're some of the best and brightest people in the world, because we can choose to be. We have the ability and the opportunity to do whatever we set our minds, if that's drinking away the school week on the weekends, that's up to you, but if it's discovering something new, making a difference, and going out of your way to do something meaningful, that's also a choice. You'd better drink from that fountain of youth and do it right if you want to a Tuck-Everlasting and stay young forever.

Youth is whatever you make of it. People are always struggling to "find" themselves, or "come into their own" - me personally, I'm pretty sure I've got a handle of who I am (I've been me for 19 years, I'm used to it) and I'd like to spend my college years doing me. Friday morn was another dry and dreadful HCOL class (I can't even sugar coat that, it's that bad). It was on to chemistry where Sam and I sat in the back of the class (it's a jungle out there). In religion this girl was doing the utmost and legit arguing with our professor (which was supes-awk), like stop girl - you're wrong, end of story. Food break and time to watch some more Felicity. Last but not least it was bio lecture where my professor pretended to be a ferret and a ground hog (which was the highlight of that dreadfully long class). Preppy-pro sat directly in front of me and sweated out his polo shirt (meaning, I won for the day since I was sweatless and pulling a hardcore cardigan combo). Done for the week and it was back to my room to blog (check out the last blog post Nonstop Go) and get obsessed with Jack and Finn Harries from the YouTube channel "Jacks Gap" (the best twins ever). Later in the night I made the adventure downtown to get a Grecian gyro with my room, Patrick. We sat a bench just downing out food and even stopped at My Little Cupcake for some cake pops before making the journey up college street back to campus. More JacksGap videos (why don't I have an identical twin to be a badass with) are watched and at midnight I hit my second wind and start a cleaning spree which includes sinks, mirrors, showers, and the disgusting as toilet. I literally stuck my hand in that damn toilet with the brown stains all up in it - gloveless, and cleaned it. I was so proud of myself for doing it, but it was still foul of as hell. Spending Friday nights staying in and just chilling out - I must drink from the fountain of youth.

Youth is more than just being young age wise. It's about searching for adventure, broadening your mindset, and going out of your comfort zone. Every time I do something not routine I take it as a chance to try something new. Saturday morning was spent doing tons of homework and being a little bit of a mess. I went with Patrick and his bestie, Hazel, to the Marché for breakfast and accidentally walked out (because I thought they left without me; whoopsies). Soon after that I made the trek to the library (the evil soul-sucking vortex of literary doom) to meet up with my lab partner Claire and collaborate on our biology write up. Such a weird place, have the people are bragging about their drunken escapades and other people are trying to be studious know-it-alls, I was done before I even got there. I went back to my suite for a spell (Loretta Devine voice) and walked to the Redstone apartments to meet my fraternity brother Rob. I got lost a little bit, as always, and we drove downtown to the YMCA. We parked on the top floor of the parking garage after ascending in circles for minutes on end, but I got some sweet skyline pictures out of (took these pictures below). We went to volunteer for the Y's "Kids Night Out" where we got to hang out with kids while they're parents took a break (aka lived a little). All the kids were fantastic - my love for children grew even more. 5 year old twins, Jack & Lily, Reese & Elizabeth, and Avalina made my time there epic. We played house, restaurant, build things with blocks and even had some sibling interventions. They were just so funny to observe and converse with, so young, so clueless, but still so curious. They would ask why things were and I was reminded of what it really meant to be a kid. It wasn't about being carefree but being interested in the world around you - as you grow up, people close up and only care about who's in their immediate vicinity. We watched Planet 51 and had pizza. Soon it was gym time and we got to run around, jump, ride tricycles and just work off that energy. You all know I was on the ground doing the same with them, I may be old but I've still got it. Three hours later it was time to head back to the crazy world of another college Saturday night. Such a difference, while everyone else was raging, screaming bloody murder, and getting black-out drunk, I sat in my room doing homework and just taking time to do me. I talked to my sister, Bianca, on the phone for like an hour and we legit made fun of anything and everything. Late night food pitstops, and after some awkward drunken social interactions I was done for the night. The fountain of youth has been drunk from.

Being a teenager is about working for more than the weekend. Yeah the weeks are stressful as hell, and crazy as eff - but you make it through every single time and drinking your sorrows away must get old fast. I'd like to think my existence is more important than making a fool of myself at parties I won't even remember on Monday. The Fountain of Youth is all about granting that wide open perspective that allows teens to see more than what the average person would see. We can try things, experiment (in a scientific science), and find out about the world we live in. We're open to new experiences, and that's the essence of the fountain of youth.
 
My blog post question for the day is ... who would you like to be in a different life? I used to always say Brenton Thwaites, but I seriously would have liked to be Finn Harries - identical cheeky twin status (homeboy's style is flawless).

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