Tuesday 16 June 2009

Commiserate or Celebrate?

There’s no denying it: officially, I’m another year older, no longer can I pretend that I’m not an adult. Bummer. In a society that places so much value in youth, it’s hard not to catch a bout of the birthday blues but really, when you look at the alternative, it’s not that bad. I think most of us would prefer a birthday to a deathday. And I guess it’s not that bad, after all, I’m still only 23.

Some of you may laugh and tell me that it only gets worse, and you’re probably right, but I think that no matter what age you are a birthday can represent missed opportunities, regrets or failures. And no matter how insignificant these might be there is always that little question “what if?”  

On the other hand, I shouldn’t complain. My life is pretty amazing. Not only have I already had the chance to immerse myself in different cultures and experience some fantastic places, I still have the fun and challenging 4 years of undergraduate study to look forward to. I do not regret my choices concerning this or most other aspects of my life. I’m really psyched to start uni in September. Most importantly though, I’ve been lucky enough to have the support of my parents, without which I wouldn’t have gotten far.

I suppose what I’m trying to say, in a rather roundabout way, is that I wish I had put more effort into the things that are important to me now, i.e. climbing. I’m 23 and still nowhere near 8a! The problem is, that until fairly recently, I had no idea what climbing would become for me: That is, all consuming.

Ah well, there’s still hope. Steve McClure, Tony Lamprecht, Lynn Hill and many others are all still crushing into their middle ages. They’re not past it yet, and if they can do it, so can I. I won’t let this birthday represent anything negative, instead, I’m going to see this as a chance to reassess my goals and organise my life accordingly. Right. 8a by 2011. This is what I want… I’m going for a run! 

Oh yeah, I did make it to Malham eventually, and it was amazing! Can’t wait for the weather to take a turn for the worse so I can forget Kilnsey and go back to Malham.

1 comment:

  1. 23? Give us a call when you're 30 - that's how old I was when you were 18, and that feels like fifteen minutes ago! Celebrate:

    1. You're young.

    2. You climb.

    3. You're young enough to climb well.

    Life's not over just yet!

    ;)

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