D-I-N-O-S-A-U (You)-R (Are) a Dinosaur.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and saw a grown man staring back. Before you begin to make the jokes about how I can't possibly be a grown man at the whopping height of 5'3'' : hear me out.

Yesterday, I was handed a packet at work. Health insurance. Dental insurance. Vision insurance. Life insurance. That's right: Benefits.

Gone are the days of hourly wages and living off tips.

Life insurance? That's something for old people.

When, do tell, did this happen? One day I'm drunkenly running through the street of Orange in my underwear, the next - I'm covered. Quite literally.



These are things that you think grown-ups have, and I hadn't yet thought of myself as a grown up. Sure, you have dinner parties with friends, you drink wine, you have great conversation and at the end of the night you think "God, I felt so grown up."



The "feels like" is gone. I am so grown up. It's weird, but it's what I've been waiting for since childhood. To be an adult.

Jewish tradition says 13.
The government says 18.
The bars say 21.
I'll say 22.

And today's 5 o'clock shadow isn't making me feel any younger.