If I Had It to Do All Over Again...

In 69 days I'll be embarking upon a new era of my life: The Thirties.

I know this comes as a shock to most, as my profile pic clearly shows that I can't be any older than 19, OK, maybe 21. But it's true. I'm leaving my roaring twenties to journey into the dark alley of my fourth decade—I just hope the batteries in my flashlight work.

As most people who come to a benchmark do, I've sat down to reassess my journey thus far. The highs; the lows; the good times; the bad times; the "I'm glad I did that" choices; and the "Why in the world did I do that?" choices. It's been a fun, yet demanding ride.

There have been moments that are priceless, days I wish I could enjoy forever. And there have been moments that I regret. I can't get those back, but I know that I can build off the mistakes I've made, and try not to make the same one twice.

But recently, while watching my childhood idol, Kirk Herbstreit, on ESPN College GameDay, I realized my biggest error: I should have been him!

As a young boy, I had plenty of ambitions: doctor, lawyer, police officer, fireman, banker, even a baseball star. And plenty of people thought those were all wonderful ideas. Though, no one cared to mention to me the possibility of a life of unsurpassed glory as that of Kirk Herbstreit's.

Here's a guy who does most of his work five months out of the year. He not only sees every major college football matchup, he's in attendance. He makes plenty of money, wears the best clothes, and people kill for hair as perfectly placed as his.

And I am angered. Why didn't anyone inform me of a life like this?

When I told my mom I wanted to be a doctor, or a lawyer, why didn't she say "No, honey, you'd be better off being a college football sports analyst."

When I was sitting in my career counselor's office in high school, trying to decide the path for the rest of my life, I don't recall him ever mentioning the job of television sports commentator.

Am I the only one who was left out of the loop? 

I remember early in my life telling people that I wanted to play professional baseball. I also remember them then giving me that look of "that will never happen, why don't you go to school and be a nice banker, with a nice wife, and a nice car, and two-and-a-half nice children."

Maybe nobody told me about these other career opportunities because they were "normal" and wanted me to be "normal" as well.

So the dream was dowsed for that of the bigger American Dream. 

So here I am today, about to be thirty. I'm not on television, I don't go to football games 500 miles from my house, and I haven't had a haircut in two months. 

Boy, did I drop the ball. 

I'll continue to get up on Saturday mornings and watch my childhood idol on cable TV, but from now on I'll have that little voice in the back of my mind that says "that could have been you!"

Yes, this could have been me:

• Starting quarterback for The Ohio State Buckeyes
  
• OSU graduate
• ESPN analyst
• ESPY nominee
• Television commentator
• ESPN the Magazine contributor
• Married to a former cheerleader

Now what doctor wouldn't trade in his scrubs for a life like that?