19: an age where you are still technically an adult, yet you get all of the benefits of being a teenager. Over this past year I have learned a lot about being a 19-year-old and I thought, what better way to share these lessons than through our favorite non-adult, Nick Miller! So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the five lessons I have learned about being the wonderful age of 19.

1. People don’t expect anything from you

Ok, that’s a little bit of an understatement. People expect that you should be able to keep yourself alive. While you might not eat five servings of fruits and veggies everyday and you probably sleep less that 30 hours a week, at least you keep yourself alive. Other than that people see you as little more than a glorified adult. Have you done your dishes today? Are you up-to-date on cleaning laundry? Have you called home in the last week? Have you worked out recently? If you said no to all these questions, it’s fine! Nobody expected you to do it anyways.

2. R-rated movies are tricky

I learned this just recently. A couple of weekends ago, I went to the movies with my siblings - one is 21 and the other is 16. Knowing that I would have to show I.D., I had my driver’s license out ready and asked for three tickets. The woman behind the counter took a brief glance at my I.D. and then asked for my siblings I.D. Confused, I asked why she needed to see them; I was an adult, shouldn’t mine be enough? The answer to that would be no. In order for my younger sister to come in to the theater, a person that was over 21 needed to buy the ticket. It was like they assumed anyone in an R-rated film would be actively drinking in the theater. But, my brother pulled out his I.D. and that was that. Still, it bugged me. Apparently I was adult enough to see the movie on my own, but two years shy of being adult enough to have a teenager accompany me? Weird.

3. Birthdays are not a big deal - and they won’t be for another two years

Last year you might have opened up a card to find lottery tickets or you might have gone to Home Depot and bought a spray can (yea, you have to be 18 to do that apparently). Last year you celebrated adulthood. This year you just celebrated the one-year anniversary of becoming an adult. You can’t even drink legally yet, so there’s little point in making a big deal out of your birthday. Case in point: last year I spent my birthday with friends in Disneyland. This year, I dropped checks off at the bank and ate leftover lasagna. Glamorous!

4. Fancy restaurants are a struggle

Just last week I went in to the city to go see a play with one of my roommates. We made sure to leave plenty of time so that we could eat once we got near the theater and assumed that that would not be an issue. Well, you know what happens when you assume something. Every nice restaurant that we tried to get seated at turned us away almost immediately. Keep in mind, its not like we are wearing sweatpants and slippers; we were actually dressed appropriately for the restaurants. Yet, every nice place we walked past I found myself feeling out of place, like I was too young to be there. It was kind of like Thanksgiving dinner where you try and save yourself a spot at the “adult” table before your uncle ruffles your head and points to the “kids” table.

5. You kind of reevaluate your life

Ha! You thought this was going to be all funny lessons? Wrong! Right before you turn twenty you take a good look at what is going on in your life and you ask yourself: do I want to still be doing this when I turn twenty? Even though being twenty doesn’t change you all that much physically- just like the only thing that changed when you turned 10 was that you were finally in double digits- your mindset does change. As a 19-year-old you can still blend in with teenagers and you can live your life unapologetically. But, I think that when you turn twenty, you might have to grow up just a little bit. Or, if you're like Nick, turning older means that you can set your grumpy personality free.