Growing Up

Through my seven-year-old eyes, my sixteenth birthday was when my life would completely change. I had it all planned out. I would have a great car, preferably a bright red Mustang, which I would drive all over the place anytime I wished. There would never be a boring night, just crazy adventures with friends. With every scene I watched on TV, my imagination expanded with all that I could do and all I could be. Seven seemed too young, and as I progressed into my middle school years, this feeling only grew. I was never old enough, always too young to do what I wanted. By my freshman year, I was only one year away from the glorious age. People around me had already started driving and staying out with friends later. All I had to do was wait for it to be my turn.
I finally reached the ultimate age—sixteen. This ultimate age did not turn out as great as I had hoped.
My red Mustang is not close to being in my reach, and I tend to spend my nights doing homework rather than engaging with my friends. As reality settles in, my dream world disappears more and more every day. I am learning that growing up is not always the fairytale it is made out to be.
I desired to be like the carefree teenagers portrayed on television. There are two main problems with that desire. First of all, I lack a carefree nature, and secondly, the television lies. I have come to these conclusions with age.
We tend to fall into the trap that the older we get, the more glamorous our lives will be and all of our worries will go away. But this does not happen. In fact, it seems to be the opposite. As I age, more worries pile on. I do not mean to dismiss the positive experiences I have had as I have gotten older. We have more responsibilities, which have their pros and cons.
As we grow up, we evolve as individuals and expand in knowledge and character. The problem occurs when instead of letting these changes naturally happen, we tend to try to force them at a young age. We do not always wait and enjoy the stages of life we are in. As children, sometimes we spend so much time pretending to be older that we miss out on the chance to embrace childhood.
When I was a child, life was beautiful. I was too naive to realize the struggles and brutal events going on around me. My life was focused on what I was going to play during recess the next day. There was not a long list of expectations for how I had to be. It was all about enjoying myself and embracing life around me.
I have a seven-year-old niece who always talks about being a teenager. I can see that same desire to grow up in her eyes that I used to have. I can hear the excitement in her voice when she talks about her future teenage life. I wish she would not want to grow up so fast. Watching my niece, I can only hope that even through her desire to get older, she can love every moment of being young. I hope she does not ever tell herself she is too old for something. I hope she holds on to these younger years of her life before she regrets growing up too fast.