I’m officially twenty years old. It’s so strange to hear that I’m no longer a teenager. I’m now in my twenties which is exciting and scary at the same time.
All my life, I thought my twenties would look very different. I never expected my life to have so much happen when it did. There are so many things that I’m grateful for happening when they did, and there are so many things that I wish never happened. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has regrets, so I’m not going to dwell on them as I reflect on the past twenty years of my life.
My teenage years have been very eventful. Right before I turned thirteen my little brother was born, I’m still counting it even though I wasn’t technically a teen. He has been a bright light in my life and has kept me on my toes throughout the past seven years. I have loved every moment and memory I’ve had with him. A few years later was when high school started. I never really enjoyed high school; it was too stressful for me. I really don’t know how people enjoyed high school. I did theater throughout high school, so that was what I put most of my time into. I spent the majority of my time at school and that’s probably one of the main reasons I didn’t enjoy it. Eventually, COVID-19 hit and we were all at home every single day.
COVID-19 really changed me a lot for me. I was in a place where I slept for most of the day and was struggling mentally. I’m an introvert so being at home all the time was honestly a blast for me. I loved that I got to read and watch TV all the time. It was hard though. There were so many times when I wanted to be with my friends and I couldn’t which hurt me mentally. Shortly after COVID-19 began I was graduating from high school. I was so glad to be ending that chapter. I was lucky enough to have an in-person graduation, and I was happy that I did.
Finally came college. Here I was at 18 years old now on my own in a place I didn’t really know. With college came a lot of firsts for me. It was the first time I really spent away from my family. It was the first time I came out to everyone. It was the first time I fell in love. It was also the first time I didn’t succeed like I wanted to in a class. During my last year as a teenager, I learned that it was time to not let people walk all over me and that I was more than people were treating me. I spent a lot of time with my girlfriend and friends, trying new things, and exploring the world around me.
I’m excited to see what twenty brings along with it. I’m excited about the new adventures and the memories I’ll make. I’m scared of the hardships that may come with it, but who wouldn’t be? No matter what, I know I’ll get through it because I have so many great people in my life to celebrate with and to lean on when in need.
Happy birthday to me, and goodbye to my teenage years!