Why Victoria Cries on Mondays

People can be divided into two categories: those are responsible, and those who aren't. We all know who the responsible ones are: they get a doctor's check-up once a year, their trash is always at the end of the drive on trash day, and they never miss a single birthday (even those in the extended family, both sides). They are the ones everyone points to and says "Your life should be like theirs." We shall refer to the responsible ones as "Cousin Victoria".

Then there are the ones who are not responsible (also known as the irresponsible ones). These are given to fits of randomness in the most epic proportions, and very rarely keep a planner anywhere close by. We shall refer to the irresponsible ones as Cousin Joe. No one is going to call up Cousin Joe when Grandma gets sick and needs someone to live with her. Cousin Joe can be further broken up into two persona: the alcoholic, good-for-nothing, dies-at-31 Joe, and lovable, free spirit, always-has-a-friend-just-down-the-block Joe.

Young adults, I have noticed, are strongly urged to model their lives after sainted Cousin Victoria. I have yet to hear any teenager being encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Cousin Joe. Either one.

While I am not encouraging anyone to imitate the first Cousin Joe, it seems the second Cousin Joe has discovered the solutions to a few life mysteries.

Have you ever noticed that Cousin Joe (the Second) is generally a very happy soul? Yes, he has no money. Yes, he is unmarried. Yes, he is labeled as a hippie (and not in a good way). But! Joe is happy, and Joe loves life.

See, the common misconception is that Joe (the Second) has no responsibilities (I think we all agree that Joe the First does not). But Joe actually does. Hence, 'misconception'. His responsibilities are just different from Victoria's.

Victoria is working her butt off to make her life as long and happy as possible. But the emphasis is on the 'long'. Joe, on the other hand, is working his butt off to make his life happy. Period. Victoria might be the one with no cavities, but Joe is the one who gets to enjoy that perfect creamy cheesecake. After all, we don't need our teeth a whole lot in the after-life.

The moral of this story? Too often, we are responsible for the wrong things. We are so worried about 401Ks and the effects of good old sunshine on our skin that we forget why we're working so hard in the first place. We forget to enjoy the life we're striving to preserve.

It comes down to this: If enjoying life means spending the summer dancing in the rain and talking with my best friend for three hours about that wonderful book in Starbucks, as opposed to stressing over the perfect college and finding the perfect job, so be it. I want to create memories, not migraines.