David, 30
If at age 20 you are not a Communist then you have no heart. If at age 30 you are not a Capitalist then you have no brains." - George Bernard Shaw
And indeed I've become quite the capitalist. I was fairly ambitious this morning; I thought I'd pull some books from my shelf, think for a while and write something deep. But today was long and I don't have much left - a state of familiarity for me that I think will only grow as I get older.
I think that what differentiates my perceptions at 30 from 20 is how much ambition I can muster for myself. A month or so ago, when I was working at the state of South Dakota, I ran into someone who was into astronomy. At first I thought of buying a telescope and a few books but I became quickly daunted: telescopes are expensive and books cost a lot of precious time. I thought things through and for one of the first times in my life that I was concious of it, I found myself content to stay put and not dive into something that seemed interesting. Is that age or South Dakota? I don't know.
I haven't lost all my ambition and idealism, but I'm mature enough to see the world within restrictions and to focus on a few solid goals/interests rather than being perpetually distracted.
The other day I was playing basketball with a high school kid from O'Gorman, a local Sioux Falls high school. He had the sort of build I did in high school and seemed like an avid player. It's going to sound like boasting but I 0wned him and his friends in a few games of one on one. The reason it isn't boasting is because I play like the old timers that used to frustrate me: all guile and fundamentals. I thought it was strange that I'm probably a better basketball player now than I ever was despite the weight gain and being out of shape. There's something about being more mature to every aspect of life.
So, one day like any other is over. I'm sort of the same, sort of different.
8:37:43 PM 
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