Today I Am A Man

Since 1980, September 27th has always been a special day in the history of the world. (September 31st is a special day as well, but that's another story for another time.) However, September 27th, 2007, is an extraordinarily special day, since it is not just my birthday but my 27th birthday. Yeah, that's right -- I'm turning 27 on the 27th. Starting this afternoon (at precisely 3:24 p.m.) I am officially in my late 20's. I now definitively feel like I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20. Sure, I was closer to 30 than 20 last year, but when you're 26, you're not all that much closer. A little bit of denial can sweep that inconvenient fact under the rug. But once you hit 27, all the denial in the world can't lull you into that comfortable state of contrived delusion.

My eminently wise high school math teacher Peter Atlas gave us the following piece of advice: "Don't ever believe it when people tell you that your college years are the best years of your life. If that's true, it means that the last 60 years are all downhill. Can you believe what life would be like if people actually peaked in their early 20's?" Optimist that I am, I've taken Mr. Atlas' words to heart. I may be getting older, but my life is getting better. I am merely getting started. If you thought the first 27 years were fun, just wait.