This past Friday I turned 22 and on my birthday I’m faced with the same question every year,
“How does it feel to be (insert age)?”
This question bothers me because I never have an answer. This may partially be due to the fact that I’m always asked this question as soon as I wake up on my birthday and at that point, I’ve only been fully aware of my birthday for maybe a few minutes and have only been my new age for a few hours.
Although this question bothers me, it actually got me thinking and I think I have an answer:
22 feels different, scary, and extremely exciting all at once.
Let me expand a bit.
First off, we are all in different parts of our lives and I’m definitely not where I imagined I would be at the age of 22, but that’s not a bad thing, especially since as a kid I would be some sort of professional ballerina (haha, yeah I’m not).
22 definitely feels different and I didn’t notice the difference until on the shuttle home from work yesterday when one of my co-workers asked me how old I am to which I of course replied, “22.” When I asked him, he told me he was 19 to which I first thought, “Aw. He’s still a baby.”
Whoa. Back up. Amy, 19 isn’t the age of a child.
Yes I know and I didn’t mean that in a demeaning way, but when I remember the way I was thinking at 19 and how I think now that I’m 22, there really are some steep differences and that’s what I mean when I reacted with him being so young still.
I’m sure on some level we can all relate to this. My little sister just turned 20 and on her birthday I was thinking the same thing, “She’s still so young, but where in the world did the time go?”
That’s what I mean by different. Now, I notice that I’m older and how my thoughts and actions have changed in the few years between me being 19 and 22.
22 feels scary because well, I’m another year older which means another year deeper in life. However, this is also where 22 feels exciting!
Okay, so I’m 22 and not a professional ballerina, but you know what? I absolutely love the Amy that I am. Yes, I have a lot of things that I would like to work on and I have goals I have to achieve and a dream that I am pursuing, however, I’m unbelievably blessed.
22 is scary because there are some goals approaching that mean that I will have to face some big girl stuff, like getting an actual job and paying bills. That’s a little scary as there is a certain level of accountability and responsibility that I will be held to that I haven’t been before. But hey, that’s also exciting because right now I know that I am able to take care of myself and I’m confident that the direction I am heading is guided and set by God and that gives me comfort when I start to worry.
22 is exciting because for one thing, it’s the Taylor Swift birthday and, in my own special way, my 22nd birthday reflected the Taylor Swifts music video to that song which I am so thankful for. In a year, I’ll be graduating college and that’s crazy but I’m so excited because I know that I worked hard to get there and finally seeing the finish line for this goal is so rewarding.
Now, what’s the point of this?
Well, I know for me the question of “how does being 22 feel?” seemed daunting for so many years. Who can really say what an age actually feels like? Well, I would say that each age maybe doesn’t feel like one emotion, but many and they all attribute to the growth that we experience every year and they shape us to be the best people we can be. Of course, this is up to you.
You decide how you want these emotions and experiences to shape you. You decide how you want to view every new day that comes your way. You make the decisions every day that could help you grow.
Now after all that, I’m aware that we all make mistakes and we all carry regrets or things we may not remember, but here is where you have another choice. Are you going to let that take you down or are you going to learn something from that and carry that lesson with you for the rest of your life?
Okay I’m done lecturing, but now I can honestly and genuinely say this:
So far, 22 feels crazy, but it’s great because I love the Amy I am and the me that will continue to grow with the everyday choices I make and with God as my guide.
Now how about you guys?
How does being your age feel?
