Today’s my 21st birthday and I’m feeling a little nostalgic.
Since coming to Queen’s, I’ve spent my last three birthdays here and I’ve learned a few things from each of them.
At 18, even though your vote doesn’t necessarily change the fate of your country, it’s still pretty damn important that you know what’s going on. The state of the federal government right now will tell you that.
At 19, satisfying the statement, “You can’t knock it until you try it” really isn’t a good enough reason to try alcohol. Most people who say that are constantly inebriated anyway. No matter what anyone says, stick to your principles.
At 20, you’re no longer a teenager so you can’t use the excuse that you have all the time in the world to accomplish your dreams.
Now I’m 21 and I’m considered a full-fledged adult everywhere I go. But what does that really mean for me?
Most people my age are preparing for graduate school or the work force. I doubt I’ll ever be ready to leave the academic world, so I’ve decided to stick around for another seven years and become a professor. Will I change the world during those seven years? Here’s to hoping.
Most people don’t live to be 100, so I guess I can say I’ve lived a quarter of my life—an unnerving thought for someone who plans to spend seven years to get her doctorate. Then what?
Mozart composed his first symphony at age five. Shirley Temple received her first Academy Award at age seven. Craig Kielburger founded Free the Children—the world’s largest network of children fighting against child labour—at age 12. What am I compared to them?
Well for one, I’m a Queen’s student. I attend one of Canada’s top universities, so that might give me a leg up in the world. I know many intelligent Queen’s students and I think they’re going to accomplish great things. But I don’t think their accomplishments will necessarily have anything to do with the university they attend. I think it has more to do with who they are as individuals and what they choose to do with their talents.
After all, there are many child prodigies out there who were either accepted to university at the age of ten or who completed their entire undergraduate degree by that age. I’m certainly not one of them, nor do I know anyone who is. Besides, where are these prodigies now? Some are still saving the world and doing a great job while others cracked under the pressure.
That’s why some prodigies are only relevant to certain people. So in that sense anyone can make a difference—it really depends on who you want to look up to. But then again, maybe by 22 I’ll stumble across the cure for cancer or solve world hunger. Who knows? It could happen. In the meantime, I’m just going to enjoy myself—happy birthday to me.
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