You know my father has in fact taught me a thing or two, and while the man is quite the drama queen at times he can also make some valid points.

My generation; living in the moment.

It is quite a challenge to watch so many people my age hop on the free-spirited bandwagon and ride off into the sunset of working only to make rent and occasionally indulge in a bottle of wine. I WANT TO JOIN YOU, OKAY. We want to travel, play music in local venues, date a cool tattoo artist, grow your own food, work as a barista, bartender, cashier, and bike wherever you need to go….of course that is until it snows a foot because that’s Maryland for you. Living minimally. Living for today.

Or you could go out west, smoke dope and play your guitar on the side of the street in hopes that you can afford dinner…

This is where my dear old dad made makes a valid point-after visiting Boulder, Colorado.

He is aware that he is losing his little girl to the mountains of Colorado next year, however, he wants to ensure that I leave Colorado more successful than when I got there. He is a little concerned for my sake because he knows damn well that this girl has her mother’s free spirit and lack of structure, and if the wind could pick me up and drop me off in another state/country/dimension you know damn well that I’d be standing on the top of a hill on a windy day with an umbrella in hand.

Back to daddy’s valid point making.

As a twenty something year old in 2014 we must keep our sense of adventure and wonder, however, we must also keep focused and plan for the future. Living for the moment can have it’s advantages of course, and I’m all about it, but when you’ve done that for 15 years and now you’re 35 years old, you own nothing but what’s accumulated in your apartment, you kind of have a college education (?) well, you know, you took a few classes once but had this job at this restaurant and enjoyed having money…etc etc etc, we’ve heard it all. Well, what is your next plan? Now what? With nothing to fall back on you basically have to start over. Starting over while you’re approaching middle age can be quite the challenge, especially when you have to compete against all of those fresh young college graduates stepping out of their university for the first time.

My advice to my fellow twenty something year olds:

1. While immediate goals are great-set long-term goals also.

2. School. Hear me out when I say that a Master’s is the new Bachelor’s.

3. Have a plan. Don’t make a life-altering decision unless you are 150% ready for what may or may not follow.

My father’s advice to me while in Colorado is to stay in school (which was a given) and to refrain from being a pot heading, head scarfing, mandolin playing, box living, mountain tenting, lack of bathing hippy of the west. (Yes, most of those things are not actually things, and you can tell him that.)

And hey, I think I can handle that challenge.