Peter Pan: The True First Avenger

Ain’t nobody got time for that, except him. The boy least likely to – not the English pop duo (I mean, they could if they wanted to, I guess) – is going to change the world. Slowly, but surely.

Since we’re all BFFs here, I’m going to take this opportunity to admit something vaguely mortifying. If there’s anything I’ve learnt about being single, it’s that this world isn’t meant to be experienced alone. No doubt I can polish off an entire pan of seafood paella meant for two by myself, someone still needs to cook it! To a certain extent, it helps having 1,782 Facebook friends – that’s kind of how I got you to read this blog thing in the first place anyway. No man is an island after all.

I’m not saying people in relationships lead better lives or are happier than those not in relationships; what I’m saying is that we were made to love. (This sounds like something God would say. If you wanna pull a quote from the Bible, now is the time. LOL! Laugh out loud. Lots of love. Whatever.) We can love anything and everything, really, but if we find one thing – preferably a person – that we really, really love, everything just becomes a bit more magical. And difficult. But magical, nonetheless.

With that cat out of the bag, it should come as no surprise that my purpose for dating in the first place is to be in a relationship that hopefully leads to marriage. This stance seriously disturbs and freaks people out, more often than not, to the point of defecating in their pants. I just want someone who wants to hang out all the time and thinks I’m the best person in the world and wants to have sex with only me. (And then marry me one day.) FUCK SAKE, IS THAT ASKING FOR TOO MUCH?

Back in 1970, men typically got married at 24 and women at 22. Today, the average age at which people wed is 32 for men and 30 for women, with an increasing number of us deciding not to marry at all. BUT, BEB??!?!?!

Back in 1970, the average life expectancy was about 70. Today, if you’ve managed to escape mass shootings in elementary school, you’re likely to live to a ripe old age of about 200. Unless a white cop shoots you for being an unarmed black person, or your passenger plane vanishes without a trace/gets blown out of the sky by rebels, then you’re back to being dead at a relatively young age.

The longevity megatrend has a rippling effect shaking many sectors of the economy and aspects of our lives, which we are not fully aware of just yet. Could the Peter Pan syndrome be a result of longer life expectancy? Wise men say only fools rush in; would it be a sin then, to extend our time for exploration, adventure and discovery beyond the recommendations of our forefathers?

When my mother got out of college, she had three options: she could become a secretary, a secretary, or a secretary. My life is vastly different. I was brought up with a sense of unbounded possibility and was told there was nothing in this world that I couldn’t do. I had – or rather, still have (Peter Pan complex, y’know?) – the chance to go to university, which I didn’t; I’ll let you know in a few years how that’s worked out for me.

I’ve basically been handed on a silver platter, a myriad of opportunities and an invigorating freedom that my mom could only imagine. But so often I am spoilt for choice to the point of paralysis – touché. I have the world at my feet and numerous doors wide open before me, but not even the slightest clue as to which direction to step in.

We were promised everything growing up. And that’s exactly what we’ve been served. But it’s a rude awakening and a real dilemma, having just realized that there’s only so much our hands can hold. (There’s always a catch, innit? Those fucking pricks.) We’re suffocated by choice, responsibility, and our insecurities; we’re terrified of taking risks, because settling on one thing implies forgoing so many other things. #opportunitycost. We’re bent on putting off big decisions like investing in our own place, picking a career and falling in love, for however long the world will allow us to. Omg, is it just me or do we actually kinda suck?

But then again, a drawn-out chapter of experimentation and introspection may not be such an outrageous idea in the book of life for our generation, who will have to address and solve many of the environmental, social, and economic problems bequeathed to us by previous generations – thanks a lot, by the way. I mean, I don't even remember asking to be born in the first place.

Children are esteemed for their imagination, candour, and high spirits. And it strikes me that these are the precise qualities we need to get ahead in this age of agility. Perhaps the traditional benchmarks of adulthood are gradually losing its relevance today. Orange is the new black, is it not? Get with it already – Peter Pan may just be on the brink of curing Ebola.