I’m 18 years old. Some may think I’m old, some may say I’m young. But in reality, I’m a child. I look out into the world and realize that I still don’t know what the world has to offer for me, or rather, what I have to offer to the world. It’s strange to believe that someone so very small and insignificant to the world may very well have an endless amount of skills to offer the rest of the world. Up until now, I never quite knew what it was like to fully be independent. Everyone has their own steps to adulthood and for me, these were the ones that I went through.
1. Walking
It sounds bizarre, I know. Thinking back, you probably won’t even remember what it was like to take that giant leap forward with your puny, little feet. However, ask your parents and the moment that you took your first step was the moment they knew you’d be able to move on your own, travel on your own. It was the first steps to the journey you’d be ready to take on.
2. Likes/Dislikes
Yes. You’re able to distinguish the things you love from the things you hate. Having the free will to know and choose what makes you happy, sad, mad and all the things in between. That power within you to start giving your own thoughts, opinions and decisions mark a specific time in your life in which “mommy and daddy” sit on the sidelines while you take the wheel.
3. Planning your Future
Probably the most intimidating aspect of your growing experience. These days, we like to call it “adulting.” The very time in your life that makes you ask yourself questions like “Where will I be in 20 years?” or “What am I going to do with my life?” All of these questions push through your mind, waiting for answers and actions to take place. It’s the time that you think about becoming a doctor, owning your own clinic, or becoming a teacher to 20 students staring back at your whiteboard. This is the time you want success, and success is all that you crave.
“You’re so grown up!” Or at least that’s what you hear. Looking at myself now, I realize that growing up is the scariest thing any individual has to go through. The pressure to be successful. The amount of work and effort you go through to prove yourself worthy of greatness. The amount of times you try to figure out where you want to go, or who you want to be. With it all, however, one thing remains true: you learn.
Learn in everything you do, because in everything you do, you learn more about you.