In a few months, I will surrender my membership in the cherished demographic of 18-29 year olds, and fall headlong into my terrifying 30s. I have many thoughts on this, but most central is the fear I hold that I may never feel like a “real” adult. I was mulling this over today as I read this roundtable discussion on slate concerning the ny times “what’s the deal with 20 somethings” article. I don’t have alot to add to the discussion except that it made me realize that my pining for some sort of adulthood “other” is mostly a hope for a sort of perfectly idealized life. Realizing that today was helpful, but even more helpful is this amazing quote that ends the discussion. It is from philosopher Roberto Unger and it says more than I ever could:
As we pass through childhood, each of us, a storehouse of alternative ways of becoming a person, imagines many different courses of action and of life he may later take. However, we cannot be everything in the world. We must choose a path, and reject other paths. This rejection, indispensable to our self-development, is also a mutilation. In choosing, as we must, we cast aside many aspects of our humanity. If, however, we cast them aside completely, we become less than fully human. We must continue somehow to feel the movements of the limbs we cut off. To learn how to feel them is the first major work of the imagination.
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