Don't Run with Scissors

It's that time of the week again for my weekly diatribe on the plight of twentysomethings in America. This week finds me with a touch of homesickness (more like a full-blown case) and a bit of wanderlust. Confused? Yeah, me too, but I think we can blame it on my buddy who has just returned from Europe. But in an attempt to quell the sudden urge to move home, I will be visiting the folks for a couple of days (even though I have a job interview in Atlanta Monday).

Do you find yourself homesick? Are you homesick and you're at home? I bet you're wishing for the days when you only had to worry about how you were gonna come up with the money for prom. Or let's take it even further back and you were just trying not to fall off of the monkey bars. If you're reading this with your thumb in your mouth right now, know that that time has passed. Pay your rent, utilities and student loans, okay? But if you need to take a trip down memory lane, you can and you can use some of the lessons from back then in your current circumstance.

1. Color inside the lines. Now, I'm only saying this because you have to prove that you can follow rules and you're not a total anarchist. But do you remember the power I was talking about last week? We can and should use that power to change the lines. Draw an entirely new picture to color in! That's the beauty of being young and powerful.
2. Walk, don't run. This is something that I struggle with...a lot. Patience is a very valuable virtue, but since you've heard it so many times, you tend to ignore it. But Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will you reach all of your goals in a day. Slow down! You won't be able to see what you're passing up.
3. Loss is natural. Yes, God took away Squeaky the class mouse or if nothing else you loss an entire set of baby teeth. But what happened? Squeaky was replaced by Tom and Jerry, the guinea pigs who were a lot cooler and you grew bigger and stronger teeth, not to mention you were a little richer when the tooth fairy came to visit. Loss happens to everyone, but God is only making room for a better opportunity.
4. Stand up for yourself. So maybe you weren't the biggest, meanest first grader this side of the neighborhood and maybe your got your lunch money taken all the time. Time makes us older and hopefully wiser. So now your coworker wants you to pull the presentation together so that he or she can take all the credit. NO! Don't be someone else's punching bag again. You're an adult. Let the boss know that you stayed up until two in the morning on that presentation.
5. But work well with others. Even Jesus had the twelve apostles. You're only one person and you can't know everyone in the world. I have learned from a dear girlfriend of mine that networking can take you far. It is about what you know, but who cares if you don't know anybody?

So those are just a few of the few lessons that we need to relearn so that we can change the world. If you have any other suggestions, please post them so that everyone can see. I'll be having some much needed fun in the ATL this weekend, but I'll be thinking of you guys and the next column. OH! One last lesson before I go...Don't run with scissors. You can go to jail for that. :-)