Can We Have It All?

PHOTO  |  LUCIA BRAHAM

With age comes responsibility, apparently. I seem to still be waiting for adulthood to happen to me. Thirty feels the same as when I was in high school but with more bills to pay and the ability to drive myself places. Is growing up the freedom to decide on breakfast-cake? Or the sophistication to choose the more sensible option?

The ‘adults’ I like most retain their childish enthusiasm. Sure, they hold down jobs, and most of them can probably tell the difference between a salad fork and a dessert fork, but they also make huge amounts of noise in recording studios, or fling themselves around dirt tracks on motorcycles and end up with cuts, bruises, and smiles for days.

How selfish is maintaining hobbies if they get in the way of life progression from someone else’s point of view? Does a time come when we need to put away childish things for good and make with the big decisions? Choose a career they said. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. I’d rather run away to a sweet cabin in the forest with cars and bikes (friends, good coffee, and fast internet required to make it a legitimate possibility), but is this avoidance of growing up, or just a different choice?

For someone who is generally paralysed by breakfast options, life choices are all a bit too hard. Give me the choice between points and electronic ignition any day. While requiring different levels of maintenance, both are proven to work and will ultimately get your engine where you want to go. Ditto on stick vs mig - the steel will end up welded, regardless of the process.

The ultimate question is probably where do you want to go? If you have some idea, why not get a start towards it now? Your destination will remain the same distance away if you stay in the same place. But if you don't know, don’t panic. There will always be a road to take you somewhere exciting, and hopefully it'll be a twisty one.