What're you going to do when you finish high school, Orangeman? Go to college, I hope? You're a smart young man with lots of potential. I ask because I think often when you have a plan for the future and know where you're headed next, the oncoming milestone birthdays seem less significant.

When I was your age, I remember thinking turning 21 would be strange. It seemed like the be-all, end-all grownup birthday, after which all I had to look forward to was the bleak adult years of bills and responsibilities. But in reality no one turns around one day and is suddenly grown up just because of a birthday. It's a gradual process. I don't think I really achieved true grownup status till I was 26. Some days I still wonder whether I'm there or not. . .