Adjusting to life post college is difficult at first. I almost got suckered into a life I did not want after I graduated from school, thought I was on the right track. I had myself a very nice condo, good car, a cat, a job that I hated but if I worked long enough at I might get promoted to some middle-management-nowhere-position and a flat screen TV. That's success right? FUCK NO.

I didn't want that life. I didn't want to be stuck in an office all day doing something, being somewhere, I hated. College promises even more than high school, when you cast away the last shreds of irresponsibility. People say that college is the time to act out, get it all out of your system before settling firmly into adulthood, but why? Why do you have to be responsible all the time. Why do people give you a look if you pound a drink at a bar and follow it up with a shot and a beer? Why do people have to be so locked into their roles that they cannot possibly see that there is an alternative to living and doing what everyone else does?

Nothing reminds me of this more than facebook. I see people doing what they are supposed to be doing through a digital window. I see it all the time. My core group of friends remain pretty much the same, Alecia still doing her thing, Trevor still doing his. Still drinking and smoking and abusing their bodies enough that I do not have to worry about them losing themselves. Then I look at people I casually knew, people who I would associate with but it would be a stretch to call them a friend. They are off doing what they are "supposed" to be doing; going to law school and getting married. Those events are a stopper on the bottle of life, meant to plug it up before it escapes and does something crazy like follow a dream. Those kids don't want to be lawyers, they want the money and privileges that come with being a lawyer. They want the condos and the fancy cars and the access to some shitty club where they can do enough blow to forget how miserable they really are. Their dreams have eroded and excuses arise as to why they can longer pursue them. That won't happen to me, at least not anytime soon.

One of my dreams was to be a professional snowboarder, maybe get a sponsor after a while. I remember back to when I rode my first lift, maybe 4 years ago in Big Bear, CA. I remember seeing kids tear down groomers and wanting to be able to do that. After a year here, I am not discouraged but encouraged. I look at where I started and how far I have come. Things I thought were impossible I can do with relative ease. New things look impossible and that's exciting. That nervous, stomach sinking feeling I get when I grab big air, when I hit the lip of the pipe, when I fall down a cliff...it all brings me closer to my goal and keeps me in touch with me. I did what others wanted for so long and now I am doing what I want. I work 65 hour weeks to live in a resort town, but I do it on my terms. I don't have to work two jobs, I get to work at a bar and meet wonderful people. I want to be out there at the pub, having a drink with the regulars; complaining about all the tourists. It just so happens that I get paid for it.

This post definitely echoes what Tony said in his latest. Things that were important in the 20th century simply aren't anymore. People who get it, people who make meaningful contact doing what they love, that's what matters. It does matter how we achieve it, it just matters that we try. We don't need money or fancy car, just a strong will; strong enough to withstand the constant defeatism that surrounds us from a previous generation. Yes, you all did fuck up. I love your failure though, because it shows me exactly how not to be. I will take off my elitist hat now, but only for a moment.