"Life is a lot like toilet paper- the closer you are to the end of the roll, the faster it seems to run out."

My father, who had the tendency to teach me in cliché, felt this quote was the best way to sum up his 58 years.  I gotta hand it to pops- at least he's making an attempt at metaphor.

Tomorrow, I turn 33 years old.  And true enough to my father's adage, I can recall how the years seemed to drag when I was 10 compared to how my 20's just seemed to fly by so fast I can't differentiate what I did at 23 to what I did at 28.  In fact, it really DOES feel like it was only yesterday that I turned 23 thinking, "Great, my car insurance is going to drop!" and here I am 10 years later wondering why I no longer have the urge to drive a car past 100 mph and cursing at those who are for cutting me off.  Give me the option of hitting the club and partying until 4 am or going to the pool hall for drinks and pool hall wins every time...less hassle, more parking.  And yeah, I miss 90's music and I think today's music (with some exceptions) are crap and kids dress like idiots (forgetting that my era once thought it was cool to wear pants backwards and wear beepers on their boots).

But I don't think this has to do with getting old.  I think this has more to do with nostalgia.  The things we love are the things that ended up shaping us as adults.  Our teen and young adult years were our most formidable years- what we did, saw, heard, experienced- they all had an impact on who we became which is why we tend to look back on those years as the best years of our lives.

Life isn't over yet, though.  And to think such things at 33 is a sure fire way to speed up the rest of your life (I'll be 43 in just a blink if I'm not careful.)  Instead, I'd rather live and believe each year will just get better and better and life still has something big planned for me.  It's not about being in denial that we're getting older- it's about KNOWING that age has never had anything to do with youth.  I feel young because I AM young...at least by the standards of life lessons I've still yet to learn.  I know there will still be things I'll learn at 50 that I never figured out before.  So the key is to keep your eye open, pay attention to your surroundings, and find new ways each year to elevate your hustle.

Which leads me to this:  2009 sucked! Though there were certain highlights (BET J Lyric Cafe taping, APCA National Conference, GK Benefit Concert in UNF), for the most part, the whole year just felt like one day repeating into the next.  It's mostly my fault- getting too comfortable, getting too complacent, losing sight of goals, choosing stability over risk.  I guess we all get that way from time to time- but maybe that's the problem.  We forget to elevate...we figure it's safer to be content where we're at until the years roll by and we find ourselves in the same position we found ourselves years ago and then wonder why life just seems to pass us by quicker the older we get.  We find ourselves saying that it's all downhill from here despite that we haven't even reached the top yet.  We're going up halfway and deciding that time is telling us that it's time to start coming back down.

When we were young, the days went slower because we didn't know what awaited us the next day.  Each day in school was drama, the weekends were full of parties and kissing games, the bike rides seemed like adventures.  We were growing up- and along with that came the uneasiness, the fear, the awkwardness, and we couldn't wait to grow up and prove ourselves.

That's how we should be living:  always wanting to prove ourselves to ourselves.  Push the envelope.  Push the boundaries.  Elevate the hustle.  That's the plan.  That's 2010 and every year after.  That's me at 33 and 58.  So what I'm getting older?  Tell em all somehow I'll see them at the top...that is, of course, if they haven't given up yet. Read the full story »

Read the full story »