I’m not invincible like I used to be. I never used to get sunburned, or overly hungover, or sick all that much. I could run on 3 hours of sleep and stay out until all hours with the best of them. I could spend all day in the sun on the lake with no sunscreen and just get darker. What happened? I graduated from college and got a real job. This happened over 5 years ago, but adulthood is really starting to take its toll this year for some reason. Or maybe it’s that I finally have a job that I don’t dread going into every morning.

In any case, I find myself making responsible decisions during the week, which translates into a decreased tolerance for mayhem on the weekends, which translates to a lot of Sunday afternoon napping. On the rare occasion that I spend any amount of time outside in the sun, I refuse to wear sunscreen because I never used to burn. The reason I never used to burn was that I used to be outside a lot more often during the summer. If anyone is paying attention to this particular equation, you have no doubt arrived at the conclusion of me burning like crazy now because I still think I’m invincible. I got sunburned last Saturday, and it still hurts. Is this going to stop me from rinsing and repeating the exact same idea this weekend? No.

There is a not-so-subtle difference between me and most intelligent people. We both know we’re not invincible; I just have a stronger suspension of disbelief which allows me to pretend that I still am. It’s the last bastion of a misspent youth.