That's How People Grow Up. Or is It?

What makes someone a “grown up”, do you think? I’ve been thinking about this a bit recently, and I’m kind of confused about where the line is. For example, I was reading something the other day about a man who's promising $10000 to the person who introduces him to his future wife. This is kind of wacky in itself, I'll admit, but it wasn't that part that annoyed me. The article went on to scrutinise his various attributes in an attempt to decide whether he was in fact “marriage material", or whatever it is the ladies are calling potential husbands these days. Now, again, while I would normally find this kind of list appalling, this is an unusual case and he was sort of asking for it, so fair enough. Anyway, it went on to list the reasons for and against him. Things like his job, where he lived and what he liked to do where dissected and one strike against him was that one of his interests is skateboarding. This is where they lost me. Apparently being a 40 year old man who likes to ride a skateboard in his spare time indicates that he is some sort of immature man-child who never grew up. See, I would have said the fact that he was a 40 year old man (with 10 grand to spare!) was proof enough of his maturity, but what do I know?

I guess I just don't believe you can judge a person's level of maturity based on something as simplistic as their hobbies. As far as I can tell, hobbies are meant to be fun, and therefore should be beyond that kind of scrutiny. Are there people out there who don't indulge in the hobbies they really enjoy because they're afraid to be seen as immature? Or take part in hobbies they don't enjoy because it makes them seem more like a grown up? That would be a pretty sad way to live, I reckon. So what would have constituted a “mature” pastime for this man? How about reading, generally considered a perfectly respectable, possibly even “intellectual” thing to do. But what if, after deciding he's worth a shot based on this mature hobby, you discover that he only likes to read comic books. Does that count? It's still reading, right? Maybe he says he's passionate about movies, which would be great, who doesn't love movies? But then he goes on to tell you that Meet the Fockers is his favourite film and he thinks Adam Sandler has been sorely overlooked in the annual Oscar race. Or he spends his weekends scouring second-hand shops to add to his vintage collections, then proudly shows off his 732 My Little Ponies. Perhaps being a music fan would make him more appealing...until you find out that his favourite band is Nickelback. The point is, any measure of maturity, other than actual age, is subjective at best. As long as someone is responsible when it counts, I don't care if they spend the rest of their time playing with Barbie dolls and indulging in their love of fairy floss if that makes them happy.

Being a grown up is overrated, anyway. And really, what's the big deal about maturity? Maybe I'd feel differently if I wasn't a bit of a kidult myself, but I'm not going to take up golf or give up trashy television in an effort to appear more grown up to anyone. In fact, the older I get the more inclined I am to be child-like - some might even call it childish. Because even though we all step up and do the important things when it matters, a lot of the time being a responsible adult kind of sucks. Giving up the fun stuff just because you're not a kid anymore seems ridiculous to me. Life is too short to waste it on being a grown up.