"I peaked."

We’ve all heard it said, and at times, we’ve said it ourselves. We use the term to caption our Instagram pictures, to describe our experiences, or to explain our emotions. We say things like, “I peaked abroad,” “I peaked in college,” “I peaked at the Saint Pablo concert,” and everything in between. If you’ve never heard the term "I peaked" before, it basically means that you have reached the height of your life; you have been the happiest you will ever be, you have had the most fun you will ever had. Of all the terms in the Generation Y dictionary, this is the one that should be removed, and I’ll tell you why.

First of all, if we, as young adults with an entire life ahead of us, have peaked by the age of twenty or twenty-one, that is just sad. If we truly have been at our happiest, our most successful, our most fulfilled within the first fourth of our existence in the universe, it means that it is all downhill from there. How can we move forward thinking that our brightest days are behind us?

Second of all, saying it is a short cut. Saying, “I peaked in college” is much easier than saying, “College was amazing because of the people that came into my life, because of the growth I’ve seen in myself since I began, and because of the clarity about the world that I have gained.” Saying something like, “I peaked at that party” is much easier than saying, “That party blew my mind; I got to dance my ass off and I could feel the bass from the speakers in my chest even though I’d had two too many tequila shots.” Instead of saying, "I peaked," we should describe what our experiences were like and how we felt while we were experiencing them. How can we hope to have the same sort of highs if we never took the time to think about what made them so amazing?

Third of all, the term "I peaked" assumes that life is like a mountain; a grueling uphill climb, followed by a beautiful view that lasts only moments, and then a slow descent back below the clouds and into the real world. But, as we all know. Life is a lot more complicated than that. I like to picture it as more of a mountain range, if you will. I like to picture hundreds of peaks, some higher than others, some covered with snow, some with trees, some with rock, and all with different, beautiful views. Some mountains are steep, difficult to hike, but rewarding. Some mountains have a lesser slope, which you can walk up at a leisurely pace for a longer time. But, there are valleys too, low places that make the high one’s so much better. There are landslides that will drag you down and make it so that you have to start your ascent all over again, but you lick your wounds, brush the dust away and keep on moving.

Sorry, I got a little carried away with that metaphor, but it is an accurate one all the same. My point is; how can we say that we’ve peaked if we haven’t lived our entire lives yet? College, or traveling abroad, or dancing on some guys shoulders at the Kanye concert may have been great, but what about the day we land our dream jobs? What about the day we first set eyes on our soul mates? What about the moment we first hold our children, or first time we look in the mirror and truly believe that we are beautiful? I pray, for your sake and for mine, that none of us have reached our prime just yet. I pray that we don’t reach our highest peaks until the very day we die.

A quote by Hunter S. Thompson says it all:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'"