Growing Up

Aging is nothing staged. Everything I planned for has gone sideways. It hasn't necessarily gone bad, just not what I expected.

At age 12, I thought that, at least by twenty, I'd be this mature grown-up. But the truth is, I'm still that little girl, and instead of growing up, I watched everything around me get bigger: my body, my words, my friends, and their little siblings.

It's a little upsetting that people around my age aren't really into the things we used to be. If someone gave me the choice of going to Skyzone or partying, believe me, I'll choose Skyzone almost every time.

Yes, I know we can't be kids forever, and that we have to grow up eventually. But we can't just let go of the 12-year-olds we once were. It's so important to make our younger selves happy because, honestly, they make us happy. In their struggles with puberty and growing pains, they left us with that playful spirit. No matter how dull life may seem, that spark of cartwheels and somersaults is in all of us.

People say time flies and life is short, and we argue that we have so much time.

Tell me how 2018 was 5 years ago, and I'm almost 20 years old.

I know young people naturally think they know better because we're new at the life thing and we might do it differently. But I feel like every older person had the same thought, so listening to them might be a good thing to try.

Yesterday was my first day of university. Classes are three hours long once a week. I couldn't find my classes for the life of me, but eventually, I found them. My first day was chaotic, but I had a good time. Getting back to school has been fun because I have an idea of where it will take me. My school and work plan are going very well so far, and I know there will be unexpected twists and turns. But I'm ready.