CityView Magazine

guest column Young Love I By hughes Waren feel fortunate to have grown up in a loving house- hold with young parents. Having a young mother and father shaped who I am today. I remember some of my childhood friends' parents were gray-haired and not as "hip" as my folks. Yes, I say "hip" now as I reflect back. Believe me, between 14 and 18 years old, I thought they were the furthest thing from "hip". Would older and wiser parents have let a 14-year-old see Ozzy Osbourne and Kiss perform? Probably not. Would an older mom sneak into the Kiss concert to see what all the fuss was about for herself? Probably not. These experiences that my young parents allowed me to enjoy helped develop my love for creating music. That love for music will last a lifetime. To this day, I vividly remember my dad's 30th birthday party. I was nine years old. This was the type of celebration that is typically done for 40th birthdays. Black balloons, prank gifts and "old man" comments and jokes were all part of the festivities. But my dad was not old. He was energetic and competitive. He volunteered his time in many community organizations, coached winning basketball teams, and won a few golf tournaments. Watching my dad's passion for service to his community inspired me to lead and volunteer as an adult. That passion will last a lifetime. Some people are unsure about jumping into marriage at a young age. I embraced it. I always knew that I wanted a family of my own. Subconsciously, this one desire guided me in all my decisions as a young adult. I steered away from the dreams of being a rock star, chose to attend UNC-Wilmington where I knew I could find a beautiful wife, and later focused on picking a location to plant new family roots instead of chasing a corporate job in a big city. My parents had accomplished so much by the time they turned 30. I felt I was missing out on enjoying the things my parents enjoyed as young parents. So, when my UNC-W love graduated and tried to chase that corporate job, I proposed. I was 24 years old, married at 25 and a full family man by 28. I say, when you are in love, get married sooner rather than later. Once the finances are stable, have those children sooner rather than later so the grandparents can enjoy them while they are still young. Life is too short to delay the important things. Everything will fall into place. It did for my parents and it did for me. CV Hughes Waren is the son of CityView Publisher Marshall Waren and his wife Sandee. Hughes lives with his wife Janet and children Marshall and Griffith, in Wilmington. He wrote this column as a Mother's and Father's Day surprise for his parents. HigHland Funeral Service & crematory "Serving the Greater Fayetteville Area for Over 40 Years" Locally Owned & Operated | 910.484.8108 | 610 Ramsey Street | Fayetteville CityViewNC.com | 13

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