I have never excelled at being patient. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be like the cool middle-schoolers I knew. When I got to be in middle school, I quickly figured out that puberty does not top my list of Fun Life Things, and dreamt about my future high school days to distract myself from feeling like a mutant. When I finally got to high school, the hormones surging through me made me certain that I knew exactly what I was doing, and that adulthood would be a breeze. Ah, youthful naivety. Those feelings of certainty vanished when I hit 20 years old, and I felt cheated out of my long-anticipated adult status. Little did I realize that there is one more stage before entering adulthood: The Almost Adulthood Years. This is where I currently reside, and while I’m not a fluffy little duckling anymore, I’m still trying to gain my swan status. If you relate to any of these, let’s hang out and be awkward Almost Swans together.

You may be in the throes of Almost Adulthood if:

1. You start doing things for the sense of accomplishment, not because you’ll get something for doing them.

When I was in high school, I looked at activities from the perspective of "how will this help me get into college" as opposed to "I want to be a nice/interesting person and do this." The pressure to build a resume so beautiful it will make a hiring manager cry is even higher in college, but the realization that it feels amazing to help people, just because, becomes even more rewarding.

2. You take responsibility and tackle your own problems, instead of passing them off to someone else.

Dealing with problems as an Almost Adult is like being thrown toward the high trapeze, with no safety net, while screaming, "Wait! How do I do this?" It's amazing how fast a person can solve a problem when it's do-or-die. The problem can range from a financial monster to the emotional strife of scheduling a doctor's appointment, but the mark of an Almost Adult is that they at least try to fight their own giants.

3. You turn down fun nights out because you (begrudgingly) make the decision to take care of business.

I don't know a single person who would rather take care of Dull But Necessary Life Things than go out with their friends on a Friday night. Almost Adults are developing the slight smidgen of self-control that leads them to turn down invitations when it's crunch time. Pro-tip: Responsibility gets really sexy as people get older!

4. You exercise because it makes you feel good, not just look good.

I can't count the number of hours that I have spent sweating buckets on a treadmill in an attempt to shape my body into Victoria's Secret model status. I wanted honest hips like Shakira, and I didn't care about any other benefits. Almost Adults realize, that while running can suck, the adrenaline rush, clearer skin, and energy boost are worth their weight in gold.

5. You realize that your parents were right about many things.

I can feel my 15-year-old self glaring daggers at me as I write this. I know, I know, when pride goes down, it feels like swallowing a rusty sword. Almost Adults begrudgingly come to terms with the fact that their parents do know a thing or two, and that they're actually pretty great.

6. You aren’t as afraid to be the true you, instead of the cool you.

The cool me was my dominant mode in high school. She laughed at the right moments, was interested in the right things, and hung out with the right people, which is so boring. Almost Adults accept that being real means embracing every quirk and quality, and that showing those qualities make the whole package truly cool.

7. You begin to accept that sometimes, people just won't like you.

My name is Noelle Lashley, and I am a people-pleasing addict. It used to devastate me when people didn't like me, and it doesn't hurt any less when I am left out now, but guess what? Almost Adults begin to figure out that they don't need people to like them to prove their awesome factor.

8. You go grocery shopping and usually leave with some sort of vegetable.

As a college student, my food is usually some form of cheap carbohydrates that have a hue not naturally occurring in nature. However, I have learned that my frail human form gets extremely angry when I only feed it things that come in designer colors. Almost Adults may scarf down pizza at a pace that would make Shaggy and Scooby proud, but they eat something that they hate (code: healthy) with it.

9. You meet a special someone and tell them what you want instead of what you think they want to hear.

I once dated a guy who essentially told me that he wanted to change me into someone else, both physically and interest-wise. Now that I’ve aged a little, I wish I had pushed the man into a hungry pack of hyenas. Almost Adults may still make all sorts of wacky dating decisions, but we're learning what we want with every mistake along the way, and we're figuring out how to search for and recognize it when we find it.

10. You fight harder when things get difficult instead of backing down.

I used to be an easily discouraged person, and when things got rough, I would cut and run faster than the Roadrunner. I'm no less afraid now, but I refuse to give up on my dreams just because they are challenged. Almost Adults take the first steps on the sometimes windy and rocky path to fight for their dreams, relationships, and standards, because they know that they are worth it.