Near the end of the documentary “All This Panic,” one of the handful of teenage girls we watched struggle with the first painful steps into adulthood laments the childhood tendency to be impatient when it comes to growing up. As soon as we’re 11 years old, we pretend to be teenagers already. When we’re 15, we want to be 18 so we can be taken seriously as legal adults. When we’re 18, we want to be 21 so we can legally drink.
Yet once we’re 21 and begin moving forward into the drudgery and mayhem of adulthood, we miss being 11, 15, and 18. Just like every generation before them, the girls in “All This Panic” have the chance to truly enjoy their carefree years, free from adult responsibility, yet the future cannot come soon enough for them. If only a lot of us could have tangibly realized that our youths wouldn’t last forever and have taken advantage of it while it lasted, instead of regretting that lack of perspective once it’s too late.
Perhaps that’s why we envy the freshmen...
