Geronimo

There is something about getting old that just doesn’t tickle my pickle. I am like most people on this front, as most do not like this pickle tickled. Some do not even have pickles to be tickled. This is besides the point.

I am turning 24 this weekend. Twenty-four. Yes, I wrote it out. Why, say you? Because it is nearly a quarter of a century. I am approaching what is more commonly known as my Quarter Life Crisis. Yes, such a thing really does exist and as with the more well known Middle Age Crisis, it typically targets men.

In all seriousness, I learned about the Quarter Life Crisis from an article on MSNBC.com. I realized while reading it that my concern about my career, thoughts of the distant (yet frighteningly close) future, and obsession with time was not just me and my over thinking self. This was something a lot of men my age go through.

For a lot of men, a career is very important. Though I do very well in an office, I would say that I am focus less on my career and more on my future. Where will I be in 5 years? Interviewers often ask this question to get a sense for your ambition, and thus your drive to succeed. My answer was always, “I would like to have several employees under me as a manager, and be incredibly successful and involved in my job”. Not a bad answer, wouldn’t you say? But the question I would love for them to ask is not where will I be, but rather where do I want to be.

I want to own a jazz club, with a small and modern gourmet restaurant attached to it. I will sell cigars, and every Friday and Saturday night we will feature the best local jazz I can find. Ever seen The Score? I want to be Robert DiNero. Minus Edward Norton, the big fat Native American hitman, and the stealing. If I can’t have that, I want to start a microbrewery right here in D.C. with my brother as the idea man and head of marketing and advertising, me managing the restaurant with a dabble in PR, and my father behind the scenes on the business and brewing front.

This is where I want to be. This is the life I wish to live. Forget sitting in an office making calls, taking orders, and trying desperately to get yourself noticed. I want to be the place everyone thinks of when they think of a great atmosphere for drinking, eating, and relaxing.

The human life span is actually quite long. I look back on the last 24 years, and it has taken such a long time to get here. I expect the next 24 to go by a lot quicker. Nevertheless, 80-90 years is a long time to live and you can accomplish a lot in that time.

I feel fortunate knowing what I want out of life. I am also fortunate in that I do not delude myself into thinking it will be easy, equally being realistic about keeping with my dream. I have no idea what the future holds. I could win the lottery or become a thief, grow a mole, and sneak into a customs office with Edward Norton. Though both are incredibly unlikely, I am not willing to write them out of my book just yet. Though the future is uncertain, my goals are not. The remaining ¾ of my life await. In the words of Jerry Fletcher in Conspiracy Theory, “Geronimo”.