I am a big fan of Gambit from X-Men. He’s this cool, sexy, assassin like character who’s a Cajun and just looks damn cool and handsome and is a complete ladies’ man. Sometimes, when I had nothing to do and was completely perturbed by my surroundings, I’d daydream about what it would be like to be Gambit.
I’d have a big cool stick and be a master martial artists. I would be blasting away villains and enemies with my kinetic blasts. I would be a complete womanizer, flirting on the hottest of all women across the Planet. And I’d be a pivotal member of the X-Men, working towards the goal of peace between mutants and regular human beings. It sounded so cool.
Cooler than my same old mundane life of just studying for exams. Getting good grades in my math class. Going to summer school to study for the SATs. And doing more studying and studying.
Gambit from the X-Men really made my day. Made me daydream of good times when I can play superhero and fight the “bad guys”. Back then, bad guys were so easy to define. And I can just play the good guy that triumphs and gets the girl at the end.
These daydream sessions would take up a surprisingly large portion of my day. Another exciting part of my life that I daydreamed about was basketball. That’s one reason why I loved playing the sport. I could get a firsthand glimpse of what it’s like to be a premier athlete. Dribbling and driving past my opponent. Stepping back for a contested 3-point shot that hits nothing but the bottom of the net.
Feeling like a complete baller. Sometimes, instead of doing homework, I would be daydreaming about playing in the NBA. About being a complete basketball genius and being loved by my teammates and hitting the game winning shot and all of that dramatic nonsense. I was programmed by watching too much professional basketball.
The athletes just seemed so smooth in their game. Everyone was dribbling in fancy fashion. Shooting was off the charts. Even the dunking and the defense was so mesmerizing. I wanted to get as close to the action as possible. And so, the daydreaming commenced.
These daydreaming sessions of “exciting” experiences was no different from wishing for a fantasy to come true. It was my way of coping with the mundane lifestyle as a kid. But as a kid, I didn’t know any better, I felt that daydreaming was my way of getting out of the everyday lifestyle of schoolwork.
Daydreaming about X-Men. About basketball. About football. About tennis. About all the things that I deemed to be exciting under the sun. This was the adventure in my mind. The non-stop thrill ride of being a kid. Of being not yet an adult.
These types of exciting daydreams slowly dissipated as I got older and wiser. As I got into my college years. As I graduated from college. And as I gradually got into the workforce. These daydreams about X-Men slowly grew out of phase. It wasn’t my style anymore. I kind of felt it to be a waste of time. I had other ways to divert my attention and to program my mind.
Daydreaming about these adventures just didn’t do it anymore. I guess that’s just how life is. A gradual phase change from one phase to another. No one phase is ever the same. The one constant is change, change, change.
The adventure these days is in real life. In buying groceries. In taking out the trash. In being a serviceable adult. There is much adventure that we can ween out from that if we try. We can see adventure in the mundane. In the everyday tasks that define us for who we are.
Life doesn’t always have to be about hitting on girls. Or about hitting that game winning shot. There is excitement in everything we do. Nowadays, I enjoy a smooth drive in the car, where I can turn on the radio and listen to the day’s top news. I enjoy grabbing a latte from the nearest Dunkin Donuts and enjoying the flavor of it all.
I find excitement in appreciation and gratitude for the ordinary service men and women that dedicate their lives to making my life a benefit. I find excitement in the repairman that helped fix my boiler and helped me learn something new about a household appliance in my own home. I find excitement in the daily everyday tasks of helping my mom and dad. Of spending time with my girlfriend. Of spending time with my friends.
Life is already one big adventure. It just depends on what we define adventure to be. Is it about climbing Mount Everest? Or can it be simpler than that? It’s all in the eye of the beholder.