My Attempts at Adulthood

PUNC-TU-AL... wait, how does this work?

After the first step, every other tip or tid-bit of information I've gathered since trying to make this big transformation has pretty much all muddled together. No one individual observation (rant) is really going to make all that much different on it's own. It's like a Monet painting, looking at it from far away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big old mess. (yes, I stole that from Clueless. And no, that's not very adult-ly admitting that.)

So by-and-by, I give you the importance of timeliness and punctuality.

This in it self was a weird concept for me in college. Not because I couldn't take care of myself and show up to things on time, I just didn't acknowledge some of the facts that I knew to be true. I'm not talking deep or profound facts. I'm talking like, logistically, there is no way that you can feasibly could get from one side of the campus to the next and still watch the end of this Felicity episode.

Now, I must first speak a little to my always-interesting-never-dull up-bringing if you're to understand the lessons I have learned about punctuality. While it had all the components of a wonderful family that any kid would be lucky to be brought up in (things such as--supportive parents, loving siblings, encouragement, challenging, respect--all mixed in with a little bit of healthy disfunctionality), we were ANYTHING but punctual. 4 kids, 2 parents and the best clip of Home Alone airport running scene could probably best describe what it was like for my family trying to get to anywhere in timely fashion. (If you're unaware or have forgotten what this looks like, check out a short clip here.) Granted, there was 6 of us and we usually had a good reason for being late (Andrew changed his clothes 4 times, Aaron wouldn't get out of bed, Dad had stayed up to late watching bad re-runs 6 inches away from the TV), but Sunday mornings and holiday gatherings usually resembled this.

Going to college, I was ready and willing to break this stigma that I had somehow found attached to my name. Late. Blahblahblah. So, for the majority of the time, I would try and leave for classes, work, meetings and practice with every intention of arriving on-time. I think I was mediocre at this goal. As in, if this goal was a GPA, it probably would've only gone up to a 2.9 from an F. Aside from the occasional arrival to class breathless and sweaty from running or biking needlessly fast, I arrived before the beginning of most commitments.

However, what I have realized in my post-graduate follies is that most adults don't push it to the last possible second before being late. Most arrive with plenty of time to grab a cup of coffee, a few "hey, how are ya's" and they're good to go. People are able to look at the distance, calculate how long it's going to take and actually LEAVE when their supposed to. The thought doesn't go through their mind, "well, I'll just drive a little faster," or "I gave myself a little cushion, I'll just leave a little later." No. Most adults are able to justify the time they have allotted to drive somewhere, get out of the car and arrive as the ACTUAL amount of time they'll need. Nothing more, nothing less.

That's all folks, that's all it is, really. That, and a really good alarm clock ringtone.