The Times They Are A-Changin'

Life is like a 4-year-old after drinking a can of Red Bull.

It starts off slow, dramatically speeds up, seems to take a break and then guns it when you least expect it. Fortunately, life won’t pass out and throw up all of the rug (unlike a 4-year-old on a Red Bull bender).

That lovely imagery is my way of sharing the fact that my sister got married over the weekend. She has a new last name, I have a new brother-in-law and my parents can finally have some post-wedding downtime.

It was a great time, but also one of those moments that signals a shift of the gears of the Life Mobile. Marriages are happening in my generation and kids will come soon after that. Friends and acquaintances will turn into husbands and wives as the clock ticks ever forward.

Being 25-years-old is quite possibly the weirdest experience I’ve had in my quarter century of existence. All of my other previous ages made sense in some way, especially in college where the rules are made up and the points don’t matter.

Here is a quick rundown for you:

• 5-year-old Rob was too dumb to know anything

It is funny how people talk about the good old days of high school or college. Both of those times were a blast in their own way, but I gotta say that the era of a twenty-something trumps them both.

I get to see my sister create a new life for herself with someone she loves. My friends are all exploring their lives and discovering the paths they want to take. I can drink a glass of whiskey on a Wednesday night and watch Netflix as late as I want.

The alcohol and Arrested Development marathons are all well and good, but that isn’t even the best part about being a twenty-something. I am able to support myself independently and am building a career, but also stand at the ledge of possibility and can jump right into an ocean of change.

I don’t have kids (that I know of) and am just beginning my next journey towards something great. Nothing is too crazy right now. Tomorrow this news editor might decide to moonlight as a street magician, or take up professional lawn mower riding in my spare time.

Climbing out of the depths of education and into a world of possibilities is exhilarating. Now that I am going forward there is nothing stopping me. That isn’t something a 5-year-old or 20-year-old Rob could ever say.

My sister is also a twenty-something that is just starting her new journey after so many successes. We are old enough to understand responsibility, but young enough to remember to not take it all too seriously. Countless fantastic experiences await us both, and all of my other twenty-somethings gearing to take over the world.

Changes are happening all around right now. It is the only constant to be found in a world that is as light as it is dark. Being able to grab a torch and forge a new path into it is the greatest thing imaginable, if not the scariest.

But that fear is okay because change is what makes the world go round. Like Smash Mouth famously said to all of the all-stars out there before President Barack Obama stole it: “We could all use a little change”