This Wednesday, June 22 marks my 19th birthday. I was never a fan of my birthday. Don't get me wrong: I love celebrating other people's birthdays, but for me I never really did anything exciting and that was always perfectly all right.

I worked double shifts my past two birthdays and that was fine with me because it was just like any other day. I never feel any different and I never feel the need to celebrate, and yes, I always hear it from my friends and family. My friends always want to celebrate and do something fun and exciting, but the fact of the matter is that I'm often busy, especially when it lands right smack in the middle of the week.

This year is no different, however, I feel as though I am a little more justified in my unenthusiastic attitude towards my birthday because let's face it, 19 is just an ordinary number. There's nothing special about 19 and in fact, it's a little bit of an awkward age. You can't say you're in your 20s, but you're so close, and you can't say you're a teenager because 18 marks adulthood to most -- I'll always be a child inside, though.

There's no monumental thing you can do now that you have become of this age such as drive, buy lotto tickets or drink alcohol. Nineteen is just simply 19. There are tons of other "ordinary" ages as well, but for some reason 19 feels extra boring, maybe it's because it lands in between such exciting years so it's a little more noticeable. I'm going to be a sophomore in college, not a special level like a freshman or senior. Nineteen is an age where you're excited for your future years, but also desperately holding onto what you have left of being responsibility-free. Soon you're going to have to start planning for life, if you haven't done so already. Soon life becomes real and our responsibilities come knocking at our door. Your actions start to affect your future tremendously. Can you start to understand why I'm not psyched for my birthday this year?

Growing up is a factor of life and I'm not trying to avoid it, but I really do cherish my carefree times as a college student. Birthdays are just a reminder that we are getting older and life is getting harder. There is so much to look forward to in life but along with that comes a lot more responsibilities that I'm not sure if I'm ready for. I'm really not lame or a party pooper for not wanting to celebrate my birthday, just a kid not ready for life's hurdles. Can you blame me?