Adonis on a Skateboard

I was in my car yesterday when something streaked through my peripheral vision. I turned and saw a shockingly attractive guy, probably late twenties gliding effortlessly down the sidewalk on a skateboard. All I could do was stare. He oozed both cool sophistication and geeky immaturity at the same time - I couldn't decide whether to laugh or drool.

Here was a guy who had obviously spent a lot of time on a skateboard. He had probably started boarding when he was a teenager and never followed the social cues to kick the habit. It reminded me of one of my favorite comedy movies of all time, Zoolander. The movie is about male models living in their own little world where body glitter and Rasor scooters define cool. The movie was about being confident about something, not necessarily what you are confident about.

Unfortunately, most of us are too tuned into the world we live in to really go with our inner groove and wear head to toe body glitter or skateboard to the office everyday. It's a sad fact of life that as we grow older our standards for excellence change. I would be the hippest girl in the world if the measure of my cool was still judged by my ability to produce 20 second long burps but sadly, this skill is no longer marketable. Just as I reach the pinnacle of some goal, that goal becomes irrelevant and I am faced with more mature aspirations. This seems particularly cruel in the case of some of the more complex skills we develop in our youth, like skateboarding or videogames. It takes years to develop a true prowess but by the time you do, nobody cares. My favorite example of the unappreciated savant is Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. A true genius in his trade but appreciated only by 9 year olds.

Standing out in a crowd is no easy feat. When I was a teenager almost everyone wanted to be noticed so it was impossible to stand out in the sea of idiotic fashion and behavior. Now that I'’m an adult, I risk social isolation if I try and deviate from the norm (last year when I dyed my hair pink many people wouldn'’t meet my eye on the street or approach me like they used to). It'’s just easier to go with the flow so much so that I sometimes feel utterly un-unique at the cost of being socially palatable. But I'’m happy to know that some people have made their way through life just doing their own thing regardless of what others may say or do. If you are unapologetic and have unshakable confidence, riding a skateboard around town at 35 might just work for you. But I'’m sorry to say that at this age the video game habit has to go.