If you think growing up is fun, “you played yourself.”

I can only remember those years when all I ever wished for was to become independent. I dreamed of moving out to an apartment on my own. Yet here I am at 22, wishing I hadn’t taken my early years for granted and missing my family more than ever before.

I lived with my family of four, and living with them was great. They were never the reason why I was dying to grow up. I had everything I needed; the love and support were always there whenever I’d come home from school or my part-time job. I couldn’t complain about anything. Though it is only now, as I make my way on my own into the real world, that I’m starting to feel as if I took them for granted. I can only think of how much I miss them and the feeling is painful, especially when they are states away.

The reality is that all of us wish we were old enough to make it on our own. The thought is fun. Personally, the thought is fun, but actually going through it sucks! If you have built a strong relationship with your family, growing up and becoming independent might be the hardest thing you’ll ever come across.

So, to the people that can’t wait to grow up, hold on tight to your years, because the real world is waiting, and it’s not pretty. It’s full of responsibilities that make you feel older than you actually are.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it feels great living on your own at times, but you will miss the things you weren’t responsible for while growing up. With adulthood comes sacrifices and priorities and responsibilities that can’t be ignored. It’ll be then that you finally realize what it means to be like your parents…

Waking up every morning and realizing you’re a grown up. This is probably on the top of my list. Not only does it suck to know that you’re no longer a teenager, but it also means that for every year older you get, the more responsibilities you will have. Bills, groceries, and let us not forget rent, are only a few of the things that all of a sudden become responsibilities that must be taken care of.

Twenty-two never looked this… depressing!

Having to go to work. Am I rich yet? With responsibilities come expenses, so by adulthood, having a job or having to go to work become a must. By this stage, you begin to understand why your parents were always tired and why their age was becoming more and more obvious by each passing day.

You're sleep-deprived! Grow up they said. It’ll be fun, they said. And you believed them! All of it! Never before did I ever imagine how much I would miss the hours of sleep that I took for granted while growing up. Thank you Netflix. All I could ever do was binge-watch show after show, but being older and always tired means that I can barely make it to the end of one episode. You live in a cycle. Sleep, work. Sleep, and work again.

Your social life goes out the window. Welcome to the Club, where you become anti-social and more appreciative of time! This is probably the one I miss most out of everything. The “hang-outs” with friends become more and more infrequent. This is where you realize that you’re almost always too busy to hang out with your friends, and the extra hour you miraculously get, you use to sleep. No time for parties and friends, people.

Missing the family reunions. Unfortunately, if you become independent, and whether it is because of work or because of school, at least once in a while you will miss a family reunion. Or simply enough, you’ll forget about it. You will find yourself communicating more and more with family members and appreciating your telephone even more.

Being in your twenties means having fun, traveling and growing up. You live and you learn about things that you never knew before. You reach a level of maturity and you learn how to handle new responsibilities. You adapt to a newer you. And though it sounds scary, being independent is fun. You’ll find yourself striving to be the best you can ever be, and while in the process you’ll find yourself valuing everything your parents ever did for you.

So, if you’re still joining your family for dinner or simply in family storytelling, don’t forget to enjoy them, because somewhere in life you’ll find yourself dying to go back to your years of innocence. You’ll find yourself traveling back in time to days where all you ever had to worry about was whether your favorite TV shows were on or not.

At the end of the day, it’s OK to grow up, to become independent. That is the order of life. You’re born and you grow up, but until then, enjoy your young years and appreciate and learn to enjoy your family. Find time to discover your inner self and figure out whether you’re ready to step into the real world (or not).

And to my family in Virginia….

I love you and I miss you all.