17

If you have read my post about OCD ("OCD- The Brutal Truth"), you realize adolescents was pretty rough. But I do remember a sweet spot, 17. The first void of OCD and horrible depression was behind me. Though I had no idea what laid in store come adulthood, for a short time in life, it was carefree bliss. I was 17, I had a beat up Datsun pick up truck, buddies that had my back, and the warm clear Arizona sky over my head.

There is nothing better then driving, blasting good tunes, the freedom of an Arizona sky looking over you, a couple buddies, and no plans but to just go somewhere and see what happens. I had no clue about the future, I didn't understand the severity of my prior years of high school, and all I focused on was the present. I had nothing to prove to anybody, I had no responsibility, and all that mattered was having wheels, good tunes, and heading east on the I-10.

Because I grew up on the far west side of the Phoenix Valley, driving east was still driving west for most. I think my fondest memories are of driving to what was then Metro Mall (I think its being torn down now), blasting tunes in the car, playing basketball at "Just For Feet" (a shoe store that had a single indoor half basketball court), and just hanging out with nothing in particular to do.

Youth is rough sometimes, but when your'e a 17 year old kid, life still has the ability to be magical, everything is still new. You grow up, and life becomes a perpetual struggle of finding love, being loved, and making money.

I'll think back to those times, 17, and it's sometimes hard to even realize it was real, when life in the present feels so heavy. Expectations, Money, Career, and Romance, at least for me, they've been an Everest.

Wake Up, play the drums, mow the lawn (nah, I'll leave before Dad can say anything), jump in the Datsun, friends, tunes, and bliss. There was a time when it was so simple, when I felt free, when I was 17.