Born To Rock

So there I was. Driving down the road, sunroof open, hair blowing in the wind. The radio is blaring "Baba O'Riley" or "Heart of Gold" and I've forgotten who or where I am. I am constantly losing myself in song; pretending to be someone else, living someone else's life. I am a rockstar. I've always wanted to be a rockstar since my dad bought me the band set out of the JC Penney catalog in 1987. I would tie scarves around the mike stand and pretend to be Jon Bon Jovi or Axl Rose. I would stay up all night with my dad and his friends partying, rocking out to 80's hairbands. I'd sit on the console of his black Trans Am with the T-Tops out and cruise. 

At this time in my life I was living in a modular home with my dad and his second wife. She had a bowling league on Thursday nights so that's when the real parties went down. The neighbors at the end of the street would call in noise complaints because our stereo system was so loud. The following morning I'd replace my Bon Jovi cassette tape that my dad's friend bought me for Christmas with my sing-along nursery rhymes cassette so that my stepmom wouldn't suspect anything. 

When I got a little bit older my band set got replaced with a karaoke machine. My love for 80's hairbands had also been replaced with 90's grundge. The Trans Am was traded in on a candy apple red Toyota Supra. We would cruise around in that thing blaring Cracker or Collective Soul, doing about a buck ten down US 41 or cutting donuts in random parking lots.

Finally in my pre-teen years Dad decided it was time to really up my game. He took me to Service Merchandise and let me pick out a brand new, cutting edge video camera. My friends and I, along with half the neighborhood, were now in the business of making our own music videos. We produced videos ranging from Sir Mix-A-Lot to Goo Goo Dolls. We always dressed and sang the part with the dreams of one day winning a Grammy.

This month I'm celebrating my "Golden Birthday", as I will turn 28 on the 28th, but for me those were the Golden Years. I look back on my childhood sometimes and think "Where did I go wrong?" I had so much drive and ambition, where did I lose it? Considering I never learned how to play an instrument nor can sing to save my life, I'd say my dreams of becoming a rockstar are slightly unrealistic at this point. I guess I'll have to stick to writing.