Reflection on Growing Up by Calvin Griffith

In my experience, no one coming out of college wants to grow up. The perception of the ideal life is one involving freedom to make one's own decisions, which often end up being whimsical, and freedom from any responsibility. Some people have the luxury of not having to pay for school and thus graduating without any debt. To them this life is a little more accessible. For others, school debts hold them back. Their initial action upon graduation needs include finding a job, and that scares most of us (us being current college students). There is a rampant fear of being tied down to one spot, or sometimes, one person. Having a job, house or rent payments, car payments, or a spouse/family requires an individual to remain for a certain time in one location and to accept certain responsibilities. So why is it that this freaks all of us out? Is it so bad to work at the same job for a few years or live in one location?
I think that, at the heart of this fear, is another fear: the fear of monotony. No matter who you are, college is not boring. There is always something to do, whether it be working or partying or simply sleeping. Having lived such an exciting lifestyle for four (sometimes more) years, none of us want to give that up. Personally, one of my biggest fears is to wake up and find that I haven't done anything new or exciting in years, and that I'm in a rut of life. However, upon receiving some well needed advice, I came to the realization that living free of any responsibility and worry is not only unrealistic but it goes against the natural progression of life. As you get older, there are less and less people to look up to or to seek advice from. Eventually, we are going to be the old, seasoned veterans of life. What happens if we get to that point and we don't know what the hell's going on? We cannot rely on our parents forever. They have done their part and supported us this far, but at some point we need to take responsibility for ourselves and step out into life on our own. If we desire to one day be someone who is looked up to by younger generations, we need to begin the growing up process now. For example, I definitely want to be a father some day, not any day in the near future, but some day. I cannot expect to go through life without a care and then somehow, when the time comes for me to have children, be able to have it all together, just like that. Growing up is a process. It needs to start soon. Now, I am by no means saying that fun should not be had or that crazy, ridiculous adventures should not be undertaken. I am simply saying that maturity is a process and something we should all be striving for.