In a weird way, when I was a teenager, I spent a worrying amount of time concerned about not being able to get my act together as I grew older. Perhaps due to the low expectations I had for my adult self, I ended up being quite proud of my current situation. Somehow, I feel like the freedom that comes with adulthood (or at least the one I have ended up experiencing) far outweighs all the responsibilities.
Now, I'm choosing to believe that this will only improve as time goes by. At least until life tells me otherwise.
Every stage of life has its good things and its bad things. It is easy to long for the times we have idealized in memory, just because we have forgotten the bad times of long ago. In the same way, it is easy to settle into late maturity –in which I find myself now, not to say on the verge of old age– thinking that we are wiser and more responsible than those who have succeeded us. The truth is that I did not want to grow old quickly, nor now, when I am too old, do I long for the past. At every moment of my life I have accommodated myself to the moment.
I agree that the freedom gained by growing older more than compensates for the weight of the responsibility to be assumed. In general, I see more advantages to being older than to being young, although I miss a better physical or health condition than the one I have. And, if anything, the responsibility of putting two little people into the world and leaving them with enough baggage to make a satisfactory life for themselves has been the one that has given me a certain existential insecurity. I also believe, however, that we parents exaggerate the responsibility we take on (I say this now that it is in the past, almost remote).
But none of this frees me from the feeling of helplessness to which I have referred in the text. It is not a helplessness that grips me or overwhelms me. The shelter I still enjoy is more than enough for me. But the day will surely come when it will not be so.
Your personal connection to the song and its ability to evoke personal emotions add authenticity and depth to your commentary. I loved it
Thanks a lot for your kind comment. :-)
In a weird way, when I was a teenager, I spent a worrying amount of time concerned about not being able to get my act together as I grew older. Perhaps due to the low expectations I had for my adult self, I ended up being quite proud of my current situation. Somehow, I feel like the freedom that comes with adulthood (or at least the one I have ended up experiencing) far outweighs all the responsibilities.
Now, I'm choosing to believe that this will only improve as time goes by. At least until life tells me otherwise.
P.S.: Brilliant song, and lovely writing :)
Thank you for your comment, Miguel.
Every stage of life has its good things and its bad things. It is easy to long for the times we have idealized in memory, just because we have forgotten the bad times of long ago. In the same way, it is easy to settle into late maturity –in which I find myself now, not to say on the verge of old age– thinking that we are wiser and more responsible than those who have succeeded us. The truth is that I did not want to grow old quickly, nor now, when I am too old, do I long for the past. At every moment of my life I have accommodated myself to the moment.
I agree that the freedom gained by growing older more than compensates for the weight of the responsibility to be assumed. In general, I see more advantages to being older than to being young, although I miss a better physical or health condition than the one I have. And, if anything, the responsibility of putting two little people into the world and leaving them with enough baggage to make a satisfactory life for themselves has been the one that has given me a certain existential insecurity. I also believe, however, that we parents exaggerate the responsibility we take on (I say this now that it is in the past, almost remote).
But none of this frees me from the feeling of helplessness to which I have referred in the text. It is not a helplessness that grips me or overwhelms me. The shelter I still enjoy is more than enough for me. But the day will surely come when it will not be so.