When I was a child, I talked like a child…

I forget who said this…it was a writer I really respect, so I wish I could remember…but there is a reason clichés become clichés. At the kernel of everything trite is the truth.

And the greatest of all clichés is the 13^th Chapter of St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. I have lost count of how many times I have quoted from the 13^th chapter in correspondence and conversation. Its bullet points and implications are familiar to people who only have one sentence memorized, familiar to non-Christians. And you know why? Because except for a few other divinely-inspired men, nobody EVER summed up the human condition so completely. This is the meaning of life.

I bring this up because today I was reminded of one of the key lines from the epistle…the part about becoming a man and putting away childish things. Three months from now I'll be 26, so this is weighing a little more on my mind.

All of my life, summer was a special time. There were nights in June back in elementary and middle school when I would pray to God to let the summer last forever. It meant big movies, bike rides, ice cream from Handel's, cookouts, running through backyards with my friends, Indians games, plenty to read at the library, and most of all…no responsibilities. This week, during a string of sunny and not-too-hot days in Chicago, I spent each morning applying for three jobs (this makes twenty-five applications in two weeks) and each afternoon writing notes from Trollope's first two novels. Except for Wednesday when I wore a dress shirt and black pants on a really steaming day for an interview.

Mommy has told me I need more sun. And sitting for hours at the Regenstein can, as it did today, give a guy a headache. But…I'm happy.

Even during my Los Angeles summers, the ODOT summers, part of me rebelled against my increasing plunge into maturity and responsibility. I wanted the whole taste of freedom in its vanilla-and-Oreo glory. But now, I have a series of set goals in my mind as befits someone of 25. Get a job. Write a few books inspired by my great education. Be the best man I can be for the S.O., my family, and my friends. And be a servant to God. This takes work and no slacking…and I love the work.

On Tuesday during our unexpected free ice cream break, the Thinker told me how much he admired my tenacity in getting down to business and sticking to it. I'm on the right track. I know it. And the best is yet to come.

I have put away my childish things…I think about the world in shades of grey as I search for the truth…and I can say words like "tits."