Glory Days

One of my favorite songs has always been “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen. Recently the song came on the radio and instantly I was transported back in time to the summer before my senior year in high school. While reminiscing about all of my “glory days” in high school (oh such blissful ignorance about everything living in the “real” adult world entails) I realized the glory days don’t simply disappear post teenage years. In fact, despite all of the fun times and naiveté being young (and clueless) entails, my twenties were far better than my teenage years when compared collectively. My thirties (thus far) have proved to be even better. Although youthfulness fades, wisdom and knowledge are (in my opinion) a fantastic trade off. I have more confidence and self-assuredness now than I ever did in my younger years. Songs such as John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane” which talks about holding on to the age of sixteen as long as you can as “life goes on even after the thrill of living is gone” is in my opinion inaccurate. While I like John Mellencamp’s (80’s) music, I think there’s only a thread of truth in those lyrics. Yes, as a teenager you are carefree, innocent, fun loving, etc. yet teens have no idea who they are and rarely have been molded into what their values, beliefs, etc. will be as an adult. I believe that it is only through experience, trial and error, and growing pains that lead people to discover their true authentic selves. It is with great conviction that I feel this is simply not possible to do as a teenager or even in you early twenties. Personally, I would never voluntarily choose to return to those years if nothing else because they have created and shaped the person I am today (both good and bad). While many songs from my youth will continue to flood my mind with nostalgic memories, I am happy to have moved on to a different set of “glory days”.