Staying immature can make life worth living
RAY NAGANO
Issue date: 5/21/09 Section: Opinion
A century ago, when a person turned 20 they would have been considered middle aged. Back then, the average lifespan of a human was a mere 40 years old. However, by today's standards, dying at 50 is considered by society to be a premature death.
Medical advancements have allowed humans to nearly double the average lifespan in just a century's worth of time.
However, the length of our lives isn't the only thing that has increased. The choices made on how to schedule our lives have also changed accordingly. Although "30 is the new 20" is an over-used cliche regarding age, that doesn't mean that the statement lacks validity.
On the contrary, there are too few people who understand the true concept behind the phrase.
Things that were done by 20 somethings are now being held off until the age of 30, such as starting families and entering the labor force. However, if the 30s are supposed to be the new 20s, then what do the 20s then become? Back to the teens? Uh-oh. Another 10 years of voice-cracking and hair growth in never before seen places. Awesome.
Thankfully, the extension of human life has not resulted in an extra 10 years of puberty. However, the onset of the early 20s can make a person feel like they are hiking blindfolded up a mountain, because there are so many choices and so few directional cues.
These past couple of generations have been given a gift in the form of time. Never before in civilization have people had such broad choices in deciding the profession that they choose to pursue. In essence, our generation has more power than any previous generation in deciding what's truly the best path to take in the road of life.
A century ago, if grandfather was a shoemaker, then dad would be a shoemaker too, and so on. It was the way trade skills were passed on through generations.
Nowadays, the average student switches their major at least twice before they finally set foot on a path that will lead them to a career in their desired industry.
Medical advancements have allowed humans to nearly double the average lifespan in just a century's worth of time.
However, the length of our lives isn't the only thing that has increased. The choices made on how to schedule our lives have also changed accordingly. Although "30 is the new 20" is an over-used cliche regarding age, that doesn't mean that the statement lacks validity.
On the contrary, there are too few people who understand the true concept behind the phrase.
Things that were done by 20 somethings are now being held off until the age of 30, such as starting families and entering the labor force. However, if the 30s are supposed to be the new 20s, then what do the 20s then become? Back to the teens? Uh-oh. Another 10 years of voice-cracking and hair growth in never before seen places. Awesome.
Thankfully, the extension of human life has not resulted in an extra 10 years of puberty. However, the onset of the early 20s can make a person feel like they are hiking blindfolded up a mountain, because there are so many choices and so few directional cues.
These past couple of generations have been given a gift in the form of time. Never before in civilization have people had such broad choices in deciding the profession that they choose to pursue. In essence, our generation has more power than any previous generation in deciding what's truly the best path to take in the road of life.
A century ago, if grandfather was a shoemaker, then dad would be a shoemaker too, and so on. It was the way trade skills were passed on through generations.
Nowadays, the average student switches their major at least twice before they finally set foot on a path that will lead them to a career in their desired industry.
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