Twenty is an awkward and frustrating age, and I’ve found myself living in limbo.
When I turned 20, the only wish I had as I permanently blew away my teenage years, was that the next 12 months would whirl past me so I could be finally be 21.
I was satisfied with 18; 19 brought me closer to being of age, but then there’s 20. And I feel bound to an unfortunate, perpetually lame life, for at least the next three months.
Underage places aren’t as fun when the back of my hands are branded with thick, menacing, black X’s, the sure marks of being underage.
Even worse is when I got two giant, jet-black stamps on the back of my hands that boldly stated, “NOT 21,” in conjunction with two neon pink wristbands.
I’ll be a billboard for being underage if that’s what it takes to get in somewhere, it’s when my friends have to adjust and work around my inconvenient age that makes me aggravated. I went to dinner one night with three friends, and they couldn’t get served because I was with them as, the underage baby of the group. None of us had ever heard of any sort of rule like that before, so protesting what we saw unfair, we left and went somewhere else. My friends didn’t blame me, but I couldnt help but feel bad.
It’s not the drinking that I’m necessarily after, but I want to be able to go places with friends without there being an issue of me being able to get in, or be there without being paranoid that I’m somewhere I shouldn’t be.
Erie is such a bar town, and there really isn’t much for people who are underage to do, or go. House parties get old, the movies get expensive and there isn’t much else to do besides eat after that.
Since Gannon bought Antlers, I think it is the perfect opportunity to bring an alternative venue to campus that all students can enjoy. As much as the Gannon campus needs parking, that problem won’t ever go away.
While Gannon has ownership of the building, I think a student-friendly hang out would be more beneficial to students than simply demolishing it for parking.
It could be a coffee bar during the day, a place to hang out and study or do homework, and slowly turn into a pizza and music venue at night.
The building is in a great location and could provide a different outlet for students other than hanging out at home or in the Waldron Campus Center. Whatever happens, I hope the building is geared towards the benefit of Gannon students.
Regardless if I’m under or of age, I’ll definitely take advantage of the new space that hopefully gets created out of the old Antlers building.
Whenever I complain about my age anyways, I usually think about all the people out there who are envious of it. I know I’m going to be when the veins in my hands will show my age better than my driver’s license.
