Sports Illustrated readers have waited all year for it, and now March’s swimsuit issue is here sporting up-and-coming bombshell Kate Upton, 19, on the cover.

I can’t say that I’m as enthusiastic about Sports Illustrated‘s annual swimsuit issue as all those male readers out there, but I am honestly always interested in what constitutes a swimsuit this year. Judging by what covergirl Kate Upton is donning, that’s very, very little.

While the world is certainly taking in the brick house that is Upton’s physique, I can’t help but get caught up on her age. The gorgeous blonde is just 19 (18 at the time of the shoot), and yet she tells the magazine, “This means so much for me personally. This has always been my dream.”

Wow. “Always.” Finally, after all those years slaving away in the biz–oh, wait! Upton’s only 19. Just a year out of high school. Don’t get me wrong; I know she’s legal. And hey, it’s only logical to photograph the female form at its best, right? I seem to remember gravity being less of an issue back then, for sure. But there’s something troublesome to me about a teenage girl dreaming of being nearly naked in a magazine.

Maybe it’s because I used to teach teach teenagers. Perhaps it’s the fact that I have two daughters of my own, but I do want more for them than this dream. I can’t imagine us plotting their meteoric rise to stardom via the swimsuit issue over dinner. You know, after volleyball practice and in between studying for that chemistry exam or the SAT.

Still, there’s little doubt that Upton is on the fast track to bigger and better things. The former Guess? model has already had a role in 2011′s “Tower Heist” (as Mr. Hightower’s mistress) and is set to star in “The Three Stooges” later this year as Sister Bernice alongside the likes of Sofia Vergara, Jane Lynch and Jennifer Hudson. Not bad.

Look, I’m certainly not passing judgment upon Upton. She’s just a kid after all. But then that’s the issue: She’s just a kid.

So, am I just a stick in the mud or does this old fuddy-duddy have a point?