+10 Days

Today is April 16th. We have been in North Dakota for 10 days now. A lot has happened in 10 days. Its all just one big blur to me.

Pete is "officially" starting his on the job training today. Thats good. Time for him to start racking in the hours. I start at Walmart on Wednesday, so thats more income. I really hope I get a call from somewhere else, making more money, though.

We had a bit of an incident yesterday involving housing. We were up in Pete's room at the house he was staying at, and we were being pretty quiet when his roomate came in and threw some kind of hissy fit over doors and a TV and sleep or something and then said something to the effect of "if I can't sleep then you better start looking for another place to live."

Way to be a dick.

Pete was pretty pissed, and rightfully so, I mean, it was uncalled for to blame 1 person of the 4 that live there, on top of the completely hostile approach he took towards it. Be a little more civil, and things would be different. So now Pete is looking into getting switched to a different house. I can't say I blame him. I wouldn't want to live with some punk that thinks he is lord of the manor in a rental house.

I'm starting to get used to sleeping in the back of this Dakota. So much so, that last nite I turned down a real bed because I felt more comfortable and safe in my little rolling apartment. Maybe its some form of Stockholm Syndrome, but I happen to think this thing is kind of cozy. Although, I did get to actually make a hot meal last nite. It was only stovetop ramen, but it was hot, and tasty.

I've been thinking lately about maturity. There is a saying that for some people High School never ends. I think its true, to some point, that some people never really evolve past that High School mentality. That isn't to say they are incapable of providing for a family or making a decent living. I think its more in the way people carry themselves.

I think what I'm asking is, at what point does one become an Adult, instead of an old kid? Is there some kind of turning point? Is it a change in the way one thinks, or handles priorities? Or is it a status, meaning "that guy has his shit together, he's a MAN!"

I'm not fooling myself, I know I have a lot of growing up to do. I'm not questioning my own adulthood. I know who I am and where I stand. In fact, I'm getting to know myself better and better on this trip and I'm learning what it takes to change the parts of myself I don't like. Is it that self-realization that makes one mature? Or is it that which allows one to embark on the path?

Maybe I'm approaching the question completely wrong. Maybe there is no "adult" status as an achieved thing. Maybe being an adult is simply the journey of continual growth. Maybe its the realization that one doesn't actually know everything, and is ok with that, given the will to improve. Maybe its the willingness to accept new knowledge, instead of argue with it, and apply it to the future.

Maybe I've been looking at this the wrong way for so long. It appears I may need to alter my approach here...