Badassery Magazine April 2018 Issue 23 | Page 6

Note from the Artistic Director This month I turn 42 years old, but I'm not panicking. I have gray hair, I'm feeling the wear and tear on my joints, and I can't pull an all-nighter like I used to. Even crossing over the four decade threshold wasn't hard. It felt more like a rite of passage rather than a symbol of getting older. I'm finally a fortysomething! Turning 25 wasn't so easy. In fact, you might say I had myself a pre-midlife crisis of sorts. I felt SO OLD — much older than I do now. I was "a quarter of a century" old, in all its hyperbole. In my mind it was all downhill from there. So, I acted like any person in crisis — I actively sought out things to make me feel younger. I drank a lot, went to a ton of parties, and even got my tongue pierced. I was living on the wild side! Looking back, I think the reason I was so anxious about getting older because I hadn't accomplished any of the things I thought were important. I hadn't been married. I hadn't started a family. I didn't have a college degree. I didn't have a high-paying job. I felt like I was spinning my wheels, not going anywhere, and definitely not getting any younger. Fast forward to turning 40, which was a breeze compared t