Things I thought as a kid would be a bigger issue in my life: quicksand, the Bermuda Triangle, and bank robberies. Unfortunately, I have yet to experience any of these and instead have had to face the true horrors of the world, like the DMV. 

I mean, seriously, I always thought life as an adult would be full of exciting adventures such as traversing dangerous landscapes consisting of bubbling pits of sand and volcanoes exploding, not sitting on I-35 for hours on end. 

All the books and movies I read as a kid were full of this sense of adventure. The main characters always had such interesting lives with the most unique circumstances. I believe this is why I am so delusional about the reality of life.

It’s not that I want a world full of mayhem with banks getting robbed every other day, but I do wish life was a little more interesting. It’s not even an unrealistic idea, in the past people like explorers, pirates, and archaeologists had the craziest lives. 

So that leaves me wondering: what happened to make life so dull? Don’t get me wrong, people can still do a lot of amazing things and live a good life, but that sense of freedom and adventure is missing.

My first conclusion as to why this is is because of, drum roll please, rules. Now I know, I know, another teenager who doesn’t like rules. Shocker. BUT hear me out. I think rules are great to the extent that they keep society in check, but how much is too much?

For example, in America, if you want to explore the land around you, you are met with a fence in about 15 seconds. Places like Austria have handled this well and allow hikers to go on private property as long as they are respectful and pass through on established paths. This allows people to still have some sense of adventure.

My second conclusion as to why there is a lack of adventure is because society is overdeveloped. People are expected to follow the same rough outline for life, leaving no time to do truly interesting things. 

People are expected to attend school, get a job, get married, have children, work some more, retire, and then die. I don’t know about you but I don’t see a slot for taking an expedition or voyage across the Bermuda Triangle. 

Overall, I think an occasional pit of quicksand could solve a lot of our problems, giving life a little more razzle-dazzle. We have been born in a time where we are not advanced enough to explore the universe but we have already discovered the Earth. There isn’t much we can do to change this, but sometimes I wish reality was closer to my childhood view of the world.