Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. – Henry David Thoreau
My nephew Justin turns 17 today. He is a bright, athletic, careful and extremely capable young man who at times is mischievous and can also be very creative in making videos with his siblings to send to me.
17 feels like a significant age – so much coming ahead. Transitions from high school to college, and teenage years to adulthood. Considering Justin at 17, I tried to remember me at 17. Turned out it wasn’t so easy to figure it out, especially without the old FHCI yearbooks at hand.
At 17, I excelled in school. I was a prefect, music director of the school play – Guys & Dolls, piano accompanist for the choir and I was hired to play the piano at Camp Winnebagoe that summer. I was pining for love – wanted so desperately to have someone like me, to experience my first kiss. And it was the year I fell in love with the music of Joe Jackson.
This evening MAO and I talked about being 17 and included the robot to come up with a playlist of 17 top songs from the years we were 17 – 1974, 1985 and 2026 – Being 17. What a fun way to spend an evening. Fascinating to hear the robot talk about the ethos of each of the generations and to dance to songs we do not normally have on our daily playlists.
Grateful for
having been a part of Justin’s childhood,
the experiences I had at 17,
and for fun evenings with my mate creating playlists.
