It's the Age of Innocence

     There have been times when I've wished I grew up in the 60s, the 20s, and especially the 90s.  I read books, watch shows, and learn about those decades; especially the 90s.  But, when I stepped back and looked at Beverly Hills 90210 or Saved by the Bell I realized something: it's all in my head.  Their lives seem like so much fun.  Back in a time when dating was a process that involved a getting picked up at the door, a movie (possibly dinner beforehand) and maybe, just maybe, a little kiss goodnight.  A time when clothing didn't have to be revealing to be considered good-looking.  A time when good, clean fun was the only type of fun there was.  If only that was the case.  It's not about when they grew up, because I'm sure that a few decades down the line there will be teenagers wishing they had grown up at the turn of the millennium.  Life can always seem innocent if that's the way you want it to be.  The truth is, the age of innocence is not when you're a little kid, it isn't a certain decade either.  The age of innocence is the time period when someone forgets all the hardships and pointless fights that have happened, it's that rare moment (after you've grown up a bit a realized that life isn't always rainbows and butterflies) when you flash back and see your life as the decade you want to be in, see it as the best time in the world.  We learn from the mistakes and the awesomeness of the times before us to shape a unique and thrilling world of our own.  It's not really an era, it's more of a mentality.

Fact: My Brother Loves Tom Delonge.

     Whether it's Blink-182, Boxcar Racer, or Angels and Airwaves, my brother is all but infatuated with Tom Delonge.  Why am I saying this?  Why is this worth a post?  That's simple:  I like those bands because he showed them to me; I fell in love with them because of him.
      There's this one song by Boxcar Racer, "There Is", that my brother showed me his freshmen year of high school.  How do I remember this?  My brother had a crazy girlfriend that made him sing her this song on skype almost every night.  Well,  my he is not a freshmen in high school anymore, in fact he's done with Good Counsel and in a couple of weeks he'll have officially graduated.  Besides the multiple bands that he has introduced me to, when I think of his for years of high school I think about the people that were around him.  As much of a loner as everyone seems to think he is, he has always had someone there.
      Freshmen year he has this crazy girlfriend from a different state.  She seemed decent but turned out to be a but psycho.  Then the summer was devoted to his oldest friend, my other brother, a couple other old camp friends, and these two girls he befriended at school earlier that year.  Then sophomore year there was this stoner chick (not a fan) and his bestfriend-turned girlfriend, she was nice.  There also were some newer school friends, these came sophomore year but they never left, and I hope they never will.  Summer goes back to typical summer friends but with new addition of these new boys.  Junior year came and along with that came a senior girlfriend! Yeah, sounds cool in theory, but she was weird too.  I never liked her much.  Then came summer, classic friends.  And finally, during his senior year he asked out the bestfriend he had dated sophomore year.
     That's my brother in people.  Those are the people I think of when I think of him these past years.  As weird as some of them were, they were so meant for him.  He had fun and, even though it didn't seem like it, he had a pretty stereotypic high school experience.  What am I going to do without him next year?