You should know by the title of this article that today, May 30, is my 21^st birthday! Yes, that’s right, I’m FINALLY LEGAL. But, what does that mean to you? To be finally legal…you can finally drink what you have been drinking the past 5-6 years in public and not be arrested for it because you’re of age? Or does it symbolize you getting to drink for the first time? Ask yourself this question.

Finally legal. Wow. You know what this symbolizes to me? Not drinking until I’m “drunk off my ass.” No, I’m not like that. Being “of age” to me means that I have survived the first 21 years of trials and tribulations that life has thrown at me.

I survived the disaster that my college career has been thus far. Don’t get me wrong, I had some great times, but because of my lack of hard work and dedication, I made it harder for myself. I wasn’t the hard-working student I should be, probably because I realized that the major I thought I loved so much should only be seen as a hobby and not as a career.

I survived a miscarriage my very first semester of college. Yeah, you read that right. I was almost a teen mom. While the situation wasn’t ideal, that doesn’t mean I didn’t love my kid with my whole heart.

I survived high school. I performed in various places. I had choir concerts, band concerts, theatre performances, robotics competitions, quiz bowl competitions, yearbook committee, fire marshal drills, I even helped organize my school’s beauty pageant for three years and helped transform my school into a technology-based program…. I went through many auditions and clinics, memories that will always stay with me.

I even survived the horrific mental breakdown my sophomore year of high school a football game when I started crying while saying the prayer over the stadium and the game. And yes…THE MICROPHONE WAS STILL ON! It was so memorable to my fellow band mates and band directors that at the end of the school year, I received the “Most Likely To Have A Mental Breakdown During Pre-Game Prayer” award.

I have survived severe heartbreak. I have constantly battled with depression and anxiety and survived.

I continuously battle with unhappiness. No matter what I do I’m unhappy, but because of some of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met, my life will soon become so much more exciting. At least, in my opinion, it will.

Finally legal to me means I am living on my own, dependent on myself.

I pay rent, bills, groceries, gas…I don’t want to rely on my mother and father any longer. My parents are 58 years old. They are getting up there in age and soon will be retiring. I don’t want to put any financial strain on them. I want them to be able to save as much as possible, so they can enjoy their retirement and not have to worry so much. Not that it will happen anytime soon, but it’s bound to happen at some point.

I wasn’t taught this in high school, but I have a pretty good handle on things being that I have come face-to-face with some of my worst fears. Sometimes the best way to learn and get it through our young minds is to learn the hard way. Baby steps are always nice, but often, we do not get that choice.

We have to leap to our destination and find that it is harder than we originally thought.

We have to work to get there.

We can’t just slide our way by to get our degrees.

We can’t just “wing it” in an interview that could change our lives.

We can’t just say “oh I’ll practice that tomorrow” the night before our recitals.

We have to be ready to perform at our best 110% of the time. The struggles we face, the chances we take sometimes knock us down, but we just have to keep going. That’s what it means to be finally legal. To be responsible, reliable, trustworthy…to be grown adults.