Peter Pan Ain't Got Nothing On Me!

You know, it's weird how your hopes and dreams change so quickly as you get older. When I was a child, I simply could not wait until I was older. I was so anxious and excited for adulthood. I would imagine what life would be like having the ability to make my own rules. To not be told where, when, how, and what to do. Yet, now I have reached the age of 22 (I believe that would be old enough to be considered an adult), and now I wish more than anything to be a kid again. I quite often wax nostalgic with my old friends and discuss the “good ol' days.” I also tend to find myself reminiscing over the good times I had during my childhood. Isn't it odd how these things happen? The way I imagined adulthood as a child is, in fact, no where near what it actually turned out to be. It's quite funny, in a cruel sort of way. When I was a child, I never imagined my early twenties being spent single, unemployed, still living with my mother, and not even having avehicle. I always imagined myself going to Stanford or Yale or another prestigious college of some sort. You know, becoming a famous rock star. An astounding artist. A professional skateboarder. A Ghostbuster. A Power Ranger. HaHa! Nowadays, each of those seem quite farfetched. Although, the last two seemed so even while I was young. But, hey, I dreamt big. You know, when you're young, your parents tell you that you can be anything that you want to be. All you have to do is work hard. I wonder, though. At what point does one realize that after all their hard work and years spent, that they have absolutely nothing to show for it. Does it ever scare you to think that, no matter how hard you try, you may never accomplish the goals that you set out for yourself? Which brings me to our fears. Have you ever taken notice as to how our childhood fears change just as quickly as our goals do? When I was young, one of my largest fears were aliens. Yes, that'sright. I said aliens. I was truly terrified of the thought of life on other planets. I was scared that they would come down at night and probe me. HaHa! It scared me to think that something could watch you at all times. Now I'm older, and now it's not aliens who are watching us but the government. It seems nerve-racking that there could be some secret agent who watches your every movement. Every breath you take. Yet, it happens to people every day. How do you know that, at this very moment, someone isn't watching you? What makes you so sure that there isn't someone always around the corner, or looking through your window? Dwelling on these thoughts could drive even the most secure person to insanity and paranoia. I used to lay in bed and wonder, ‘Is there other life out there?’ Now, I am almost certain that there is. How is it so proposterous to believe that there are other planets in the universe exactly like ours? With people just like you and me,asking themselves the same questions? When I was a child, I also hated scary movies. I would have nightmares over what I had just watched. That is if I fell asleep. After watching a horror film, I would sometimes lay awake at night, frightened that the same thing just might happen to me. These days, I almost wish that something of the sort would happen. Add some excitement and change into my life. I mean, think about it. The adrenaline and exhiliration of being chased by a crazed killer with an axe. HaHa! You would always have a story to tell. A story that would most likely top any of your friends'. I sometimes imagine what I would do or how I would react to waking up and seeing a madman standing over my bed. Although, my health is far from excel. I would most likely have a heart attack and save the killer the trouble of getting blood on his murder weapon. While I'm on the subject of what I watched as a child, I've noticed that my choice of movies hasoddly remained quite the same. Even as a child, I had a love for the cult films. The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, The Goonies, Stand By Me, etc. As for my love for the animated features, that has never diminished. I still care very much for the Disney movies that I grew up with. Some of my favorite movies to this day include: Hercules, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Alice In Wonderland, Pinocchio, Lion King, Toy Story, A Goofy Movie, even The Little Mermaid and The Beauty and The Beast. Some other phenomenons that took storm while I was kid that I still rather enjoy today are Pokémon and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I was rather obsessed with these things while I was young and still feel the same way. Although, judging by some of the attire sold at the local Hot Topic store, I'm not the only one who still cares about these things. Now, I'm not trying to be one of those “I liked it BEFOREit was cool” kind of people because we probably all did. If you like the old school Power Rangers now, you most likely enjoyed it years ago as well. Yet, I am actually one of those people. It's just strange to see something that you loved your whole life suddenly burst back into the lime-light. To see these 12-14 year old girls and boys walking through the mall wearing their Darkwing Duck and Captain Planet shirts as if they were there. As if they knew. But, I know I'm being hypocritical at the same time. Take The Legend Of Zelda, for example. It is pretty much my favorite video game of all. Yet, when I was young, I actually didn't really care for it. I didn't start really getting into it until around my pre-teens. But, I soon fell in love with the Zelda franchise. One thing that I have always loved is music. Although, my musical tastes have changed through out the years. Except, I don't know of amybody's whose hasn't. HaHa! When I think of the musicI listened to, two of my earliest memories come to mind. First, I can remember my sixth birthday. I remember the night before it, my dad had allowed me to open one present early, kind of like Christmas Eve. And, I got a pair of Batman roller skates. I remember spending the next hour or so walking around the living room in them, rocking out to Queen's ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Second, is a Christmas in, I believe, 1994. I had received a casette Walkman. The first thing I did was grab my mom's Ted Nugent tape and walked around our apartment complex, listening to 'Cat Scratch Fever' over and over. When I was very young, 80's rock was all I listened to. Mainly thanks to that being what my parents listened to. Around 9 or 10, I became obsessed with the late and great Michael Jackson. I had a Bad and Thriller tape and listened to them constantly. I, of course, still listen to the King of Pop. You can say whatever you want about him, but he is one of thegreatest artists of our time. The way I see it, everything went downhill for Jackson when he turned white. That was the tip of the iceberg. My next phase was my 90's pop and alternative stage. I found myself listening to some of the usuals: Hanson, The Presidents of The USA, Chumbawumba, No Doubt, Green Day, Marcy Playground, etc. One band that really caught my eye during this time was Radiohead. It was odd. I couldn't understand why they wrote their music in such a different way, but I loved it. During this time, I also really liked a band called Green Jelly. To any who read this, if you haven't heard of Green Jelly, you need to check them out. I thought they were amazing. They wrote metal songs about 'cereal' killers, the 3 little pigs, and even poop monsters! After this, I spent my middle school years listening to a few different genres. HaHa! While in 7th grade, my two favorite artists were Blink 182 and Jay-Z. When I began high school, I moved toNevada. There, I was introduced to punk rock and hardcore. I was amazed with music that was so aggressive and yet so brotherly. I was in high school, I could definitely relate to lyrics dealing with being different and being against authority and establishment. Some of my favorite bands included: Alkaline Trio, NOFX, Pennywise, Propagandhi, Project 86, Bouncing Souls, Flogging Molly, Fugazi, Fu Manchu, Minor Threat, etc. But, when I was a sophomore, I found a band called Thursday. They changed my whole view. They were even more aggressive than punk and much softer at the same time. They introduced me to ‘screamo’. I began listening to more and more of these bands, such as: underOATH, Taking Back Sunday, Atreyu, The Used, Senses Fail, and Coheed And Cambria. I soon began checking more into the labels these bands were on. I wanted to know about all the bands that were on labels like Equal Vision, Victory, Fueled By Ramen, Eyeball, Ferret, andTrustkill. Towards my senior year, I found myself getting into more metal and metalcore acts. By the time I graduated, some of my favorite bands were Fear Before The March Of Flames, The Fall Of Troy, Bleeding Through, As I Lay Dying, The Black Dahlia Murder, MyChildrenMyBride, Glass Casket, and Heaven Shall Burn. Now, remember when I mention these genres, that is not all I listened to. HaHa! My taste is much more broad than that. At least, I like to think so. I am just listing a majority of what I listened to at the time. From there, my listening has become much more diverse. The metal I listen to has become more technical and advanced and the softer stuff, even softer. Now, I wouldn't want to bore you (considering you are probably already near falling asleep) by listing every band I am currently listening to but some of them are: A Day To Remember, War From A Harlot's Mouth, Job For A Cowboy, NeverShoutNever!, We Came As Romans, Circa Survive, FleeThe Scene, Minus The Bear, In Fear And Faith, I Set My Friends On Fire, Hello Sailor, and many, many others. I know it may have seemed like a waste of time listing all of the bands that I've listened to. But, I hope that maybe you've come across a band that you haven't heard of. If so, you should check them out. HaHa! Look at me. I've gotten started on the subject of music, and now I'm rambling. But, before I end this, I'd like you all to think back to your childhood. Was growing up everything you thought it would be? I would like to hear your thoughts. Please, feel free to leave a comment. What did you want to be when you grow up? What changed for you from childhood to adulthood? What stayed the same? I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading...