Not all work, not all play

BY Clarissa Martinez | THE RIDER

During my first year of college, in one of my lecture classes, a student walked in with a DVD. I don’t remember what movie it was, but I remember that it was an animated film. He sat down two seats away in the same row and struck up a conversation with the student between us.

When the first student said he was borrowing the DVD from a friend, the other student said, “Oh, I don’t watch kids’ movies.”

This small comment has managed to stay with me. It echoes in my head every time I see what’s showing at Cinemark. I push it to the back of my mind when I spot “Rio” on Fox, or when Free Form (formerly, ABC Family) holds its ritual Harry Potter weekend.

I don’t know why I let that remark get to me. It’s only a difference of opinion. The student wasn’t trying to put the other student down. And the student was definitely not attacking me. However, somehow, I have allowed that one remark to denote my maturity. As if being a college student automatically forces you to not like cartoons or “kids’ movies.”

That notion is ridiculous.

While I know I have plenty of growing up to do, I still know when it’s appropriate to set aside my playfulness and replace it with a level head.

When I’m with family, I can be the silliest, most annoying person ever. I’ll gladly embarrass my 15-year-old cousin at H-E-B by dancing to the music playing in the store. I’ll repeat the words my relatives say like a parrot, mostly in song. I have marathoned the cartoon “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” and I think I should do that again soon.

At school I am the same way, but my mind is already on a million other things. Sometimes, my personality goes to sleep as I go about my day. As the sun sets on a Wednesday night, I get more serious. My maturity levels take over when I’m in the zone on an assignment.

Maturity does not mean that one has to be serious all the time. Believe me. It’s only a percentage of the human demeanor.

Maturity just means that one has to adapt to certain situations correctly for the best outcome. It’s learning to say no. It’s about questioning the pros and cons. It’s about discussion, understanding, compromise and being the better person.

One can be those things while de-stressing on a Friday night with too much wine. One can be all those things, and absolutely hate it. One can be all those things in all aspects of their life, except when it comes to discussing which place in town has the best tacos.

The point of all this is that it is perfectly fine to not like animated films. It is perfectly fine to love them. It is not perfectly fine to tell someone they shouldn’t be watching them because they’re in college already; there’s no maturity in saying that.