Today is my twenty-first birthday. You say, a watershed event. I say, how charming. Before visions cloud your minds of my sweater-vest clad form engaging in some of the time honored college antics to celebrate this milestone, allow me to quash your musings. Chances of my cutting loose in cheerful abandon are about as likely as the statues of our founders marching off their pedestals and taking a brisk jog around the Arts Quad.

I suppose I ought to consider myself lucky to have my birthday coincide with today’s historic election. In truth, today is anti-climactic. Most people are simply relieved that election day finally has arrived. Both candidates have run excellent campaigns, but let’s face it — we are all exhausted. From the bruising primary battles to the often bitter presidential campaign, it’s been an exciting, energy draining time. My nerves, and no doubt yours, have been on edge throughout this roller coaster ride.

Today promises to be a long, nail-biting day. I’ve got my fingers crossed. But enough said about the elections. We have all heard more than we need to.

To be honest, even if the American people weren’t busily deciding the fate of our nation and the world, I would still be feeling pretty ambivalent about turning 21. I view this day the same way I do the election. I was looking forward to it, I’m relieved that it has arrived, and I know that it will be a day to remember. Today, with apologies to Pascal, I’m a bit like a bewildered lost soul zigzagging between cynical apathy and naïve exhilaration.

For a lot of folks, turning 21 is a big deal. The underage drinking ban, which has been the bane of so many college students’ lives, is swept away. The last real barrier to adulthood is gone. It’s fair to say that for many of my friends, turning 21 was the defining event of their college experience. Some of their stories range from the sublime to the ridiculous.

One poor sap, on reaching this milestone while working in New York this summer, embarked on an eight hour bus ride to visit his parents, rather than remain and party in the City. The fellow didn’t even get a chance to touch alcohol until well after his birthday was over. Another, more grounded friend, was locked in her college library frantically studying for an exam and was happy for an excuse to ignore the dreaded day. Of course, rather predictably, there also was a more laid-back fellow who celebrated his birthday by getting drunk.

Hopefully, I will manage to go through the day with an appropriately stiff upper lip, pretending that today will be no different than yesterday. Still, as I watch the last threads of carefree adolescence slip through my bony fingers, I’ve got to admit that turning 21 is indeed a bittersweet rite of passage. Maybe I can just scurry across this threshold while whistling in the dark and singing in the rain.

I am a great believer in tradition, but there is one college tradition associated with the coming of age that I find particularly troublesome: celebrating this day by indulging in binge drinking. It seems that many of us college students, finally free of the parental leash that restrained us in high school, are intent on chasing after the “idyllic college life” of partying and having fun while ostensibly exploring the frontiers of human experience. Certainly, college should be fun and happy times. But that does not mean that you should sacrifice common sense and self respect for the thrill of unbridled and unrestrained passion.

The college experience at Cornell is an experience like no other. This is the time when one can grow intellectually and emotionally and discover one’s true passions. Cornell is an amazing incubator, and I for one am certainly grateful for the opportunity it has given me to discover myself and understand the world around me. Over the last few years, I have seen many of my fellow students transform themselves in this nurturing environment.

This election season has demonstrated Cornell’s ability to help its students become engaged citizens: civic virtue is alive and well here. Far more than virtually any other activity, save perhaps Slope Day, I’ve never seen Cornellians more galvanized than when involved with the election process. Students have taken to political activism like fish to water. Cornellians have found a better elixir than alcohol — politics! Watch out Harvard and Yale, a presidential candidate from Cornell will soon be on the horizon.

By tomorrow, we will know who our next president will be. By tomorrow, I will have crossed the threshold to adulthood. In the meantime, I’ll straighten my tie and hope for the best. After all, I’m now 21.

Sanjiv Tata is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He may be contacted at stata@cornellsun.com. The Vested Interest appears alternate Tuesdays this semester.