I know we’re all millennials; at least that’s what society has deemed us these days. We’re super wrapped up in our phones and the internet. We’re getting spontaneous tattoos and establishing the trendy styles of the decade. Coffee shops, wine bars, and breweries are the place to be for anyone between the ages of 14 and 29. Fifteen years is a huge age range to lump all of us into. Some of us are married and starting families while others are trying to figure out where we want to have our sweet sixteens.

It’s crazy to see girls walking around town and not knowing if they could be in one of your post-grad seminars or if you could be babysitting them.

The make-up, the hair, the clothes. Girls are growing up so quickly these days. I was sitting in Starbucks just this week (naturally, because where else would a millennial go to do homework?) and I found myself looking at these girls, noticing their beauty and maturity, and kind of looking at them with envy. I did not have much of an idea how old I thought they were until I overheard them talking about the PSAT this Saturday.

Despite their obvious youth at this point, it seemed as though everything my friends and I did in college, these girls were doing in the 10^th grade. Their computers stacked with free stickers, their outfits looking like they came out of my roommate’s closet. They were even talking about boys and parties like they were about to hit up the biggest 21^st of the year and planned to “experiment” their way through the sex scene.

Ladies.

I’m not trying to sound like a prude grandma, but please hear me out.

We’ve all had our moments with boys, alcohol, trying to rock the newest styles, and cursing sooner than our parents would appreciate to know. But these years are for you to learn about yourself. Your teens and 20s are crucial to figuring out who you are and what you want to be in life.

So my advice to you? Don’t rush through them. Don’t spend every day trying to fit in with those around you, trying to find the coolest new outfits, or idolizing reality TV stars. In actual reality, we don’t all need to be keeping up with the Kardashians to live a fulfilled life.

Of course, we want to be fit in with the cool kids and live a life we can look back on and say “Damn, I was cool.” But I promise you, if you dedicate your energy to being your truest self, you’ll look back and say “Damn, I really knew who I was, and that’s effing cool.”

We all make mistakes and fall into groups or trends that we don’t necessarily consider our finest moments. But that’s how we learn that’s how we experiment and discover who we truly are.

Don’t be a cookie cutter of this millennial generation. If anything, take the energy that we as millennials have and channel it toward “rediscovering yourself,” because that’s what’s really in right now. Follow the trend of finding “you” and embrace your youth and awkwardness; your future self with thank you.