Twilight Zone

I turned 24 three days, thirteen hours and forty-six minutes ago. I was too tired to evaluate or think about anything else but getting through the day. I didn't even feel like celebrating the event, just another passing day telling me it's time to get out of Athens and into the workforce somewhere else.
I have recently reached the point where I wonder if I still have a lot of years ahead of me or the best is gone and all that's left to look forward to is back aches and the like. If you listen to my cousins tell it, they would say I am a dinosaur. On the other hand, I know I've only experienced a third of all I have to experience in this life. Although six years in America and 17 in Nigeria makes me feel like I have experienced more than my share at this point in my life.
I distinctly remember having a conversation with my friend right before I turned 23 about how the age of 30 is the golden age of most men. It is the moment when you know you are going to be a success or a failure. This conversation helped me come up with what I called 7-year plan. It encompassed graduation, working, owning real estate, investments and of course marriage, all in that order. These days all I think about are the first two items on that list i.e. getting done with my Masters and finding an enviable position in the workforce a la Chevron, bP, Exxon and so on. I don't kid myself into thinking everything else will fall into place, but I've amassed enough experience to know that my path can only be lit by focus, dedication and passion.
24 years have passed and with it all the innocence that I once claimed to possess.