Old School

My best friend Kate, whom I've known since I was 14 (I know, a whole TEN years ago), has decided recently to rediscover her high school self. I couldn't agree more. Before you dismiss this decision as the symptom of a highly premature mid-life crisis, I'd like to make our case.

The question of what one should do with one's life might be phrased by cynics as "How much am I willing to sell out?" Most of our high school selves would say: "Hold onto your dreams." That's because most of our high school selves never had to make rent or pay the bills. A large percentage of adults have made some concessions with respect to our careers.

Along that spectrum, my screenwriter friends Bob & Dax sold out relatively little (though any screenwriter can tell you that concessions are inevitably involved), I went somewhere down the middle, and my friends in corporate law...well, I guess I'll refrain from making any statements about their level of selling out lest it be considered defamation.

For most of us, high school was the last time in our lives when we made decisions without the impediment of adult responsibilities. Sure, some of those decisions were unbelievably short-sighted and immature. None of your business what those were. But, at least in my case, most of my core interests have remained similar. I was into literature and the environment, art and philosophy. Everything I like today stems from the things that interested me as a teenager.

I'm not suggesting we all dig out our acid-washed jeans and start writing bad poetry and crank calling boys again. I'm simply saying that it's a mistake to assume that the path to finding yourself follows a linear progression. Sometimes you need to take a step back.