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Show Humor Turning 21: game of life starts to become serious Christopher Gamble News Editor Having recently turned 21, I feel that I have just started to learn the game of life. Personally, I feel the game of life has two sides one side is when you reach a certain age and you think all your troubles are over with; the other side is the responsiblities that are associated with that age. This is the side that gets you in trouble. The game first started when I was born and has continued through every birthday thereafter. When I say "birthday," I am talking about those milestones in life that we like to keep track of and we like other people to keep track of. Each of these birthdays are special, but some are more so than others. Ever since my memory started working and I could understand the more important things in life, I awaited my fifth birthday. I missed my older brother and sister for they were in school and I was at home helping my mother pull her hair out. Starting kindergarten was the experience this young brat needed. I think this is where Utah education made their mistake with me admitting me into elementary school. When I was learning about life in those younger years, I thought of myself as a religious child whose only desire was to get baptized. At the age of eight, I took the plunge. This was the second milestone in my life. Growing larger and ever smarter (or so I thought), I began to challenge my elders and learned how to handle girls when they stuck their tongues out at me. Bullies were no problem to me, considering I had no competition in that field, and bicycles were used only for transportation purposes between clubhouse meetings. Then from out of no where, the next milestone appeared my 12th birthday. I was now "legal" to go "bunny busting" and "pheasant falling" with my dad and older brother, and I also took my first step into the grown-up world of junior high. By the time I finished junior high, girls were extremely important to me, and the bicycles that I cherished through those adolescent years were obsolete.Having two older siblings with a drivers license was a supreme "pain in the keester." Here I was, one year left before turning 16 and killing people on the sidewalks. Both my brother and sister had already received their quota for traffic tickets. This is when I first realized that the driving age rule was an act of communism. X don't have the HEART TO TELL HIM THAT THERE 1CIM I ANI ALVVHlU IN THE BEER J U. ft J x-W ' . V" ft.iT - Finally, the day arrived and I was "sweet little sixteen," as the song goes. The excitement of this new milestone was proven when I tried to polish a piece of junk '65 Chevy which was a hand-me-down from my father and brother. Hey, at least I had "wheels"! Wouldn't you know it though, it was only two weeks after 1 got my license when I backed that old beast of a truck into some old man and his car coming down the street. He could have avoided the accident by swerving, but "noooooo," he had to drive straight into the back of my truck as it stuck out into the street. I apologized sincerely, but to no avail. The old man still wanted to put me in front of the town crowd for a scene from "The Lottery," (getting stoned to death). It was during this particular situation that 1 realized the police were out to get all the teenage whipper-snappers in the world. The cop made me participate in a sobriety test; it was only 1 1 a.m. This was the instance when I first experienced the game of life. Getting my drivers license was great: driving, girls, what not. However, running into that old man made me realize that I had to take care of this privilege, especially after my dad took the truck keys away. Another milestone which I looked forward to was turning 17 so I could go to an R-rated movie without "getting ID'd." It was somewhat disappointing though, because this is when Hollywood started coming out with all of those stupid, trashy "high school virgin" movies. Turning 18 was a real highlight in my life. Eighteen meant high school graduation was close and I only had one more year to go before I could go to one of Utah's neighboring states to purchase booze. I realized when I graduated from high school that I was now in the "grown-up world" and I had to start making something of myself. It was a total letdown. This was, in fact, a very eye-opening experience with the game of life. In the past couple of years, I have yearned dearly for my 21st birthday and the legalities that go along with it. I was sick of trying to buy a bottle of "personality improvement" and getting asked for a drivers license. That's only half of it. Can you imagine how embarrassed I was when I couldn't get into a striptease bar in Vegas with the guys I was with? I wanted to bury myself. Being 21 for a week and a half now, I realize that it's no big thing. I have basically burned myself out on the luxuries that are associated with the age. I have been to Las Vegas and to Wendover, bought beer and finally seen a striptease. It was nothing like I thought it would be. I realize now, that turning 21 is the biggest fallacy in my game of life. The only thing that is different is my outlook on life it's hard to believe that my life is about a third over. A third over isn't that a depressing thought? I guess it's time for me to get serious about life and the game which we as a civilized society play; but first, another beer. PRO and consensus (Interviews and photos: Darwin Shaw) Were you looking forward to your 21st birthday? Why? lMfc v - : . . . -v, - .... H .. - f V W4 , , y . . - - i : . ....... "Becoming legal age didn't have much of an effect on me because I don't drink, so that part didn't matter." DeAnne Anderson Junior I received all my legal rights as an adult: right to vote, right to drink, pay taxes, right to run for office." Sherie Baker Senior "I was really looking forward to it, but when I became legal age, I was disappointed. It really wasn't as great as I had been expecting. There really wasn't that much of a difference." Shawn Nottingham Senior "I liked the fact that, obviously, I could legally drink liquor. But being in Utah, it had no profound implications." Brad Miller Senior "Becoming 21 was really no big deal to me. By age 21, 1 was a mother of two boys and I had been buying liquor and going in bars at age 17." Susan McFarland Sophomore "Turning 21 was kind of good, but it wasn't that big a deal. Since I don't drink or gamble, I didn't really feel any different when I turned 21." Jeff Kylen Sophomore |