Oh to be 21. It seems like your life will finally begin at this point. People won't look at you like you are some kid who still has no idea what you are doing. Hopefully they will take you more seriously than before. You can start looking for a place of your own, away from your parents and the terrible college dorms. Twenty-one is great, which means being 20 sucks.
At 20, no one looks at you like you are an adult, hell even you don't think you are adult. You are still trying to figure out how to balance a checkbook and how exactly to do taxes (which is the math that should have actually been taught in schools). You probably still live with your parents, and there is an eight out of 10 chance that they still pay for everything, or at least the majority of everything you own or do.
You are at the brink of your education, still possessing the ability to switch majors another two to three times. And if you went right into the work force, you are probably making actual money and hours now. No longer are you just a fill-in making minimum wage, now you have trained others and hopefully are making a little bit more.
Then you look at your older friends, and for some reason there is this distinct divide between you and them. Their ability to drink gives them this higher status compared to yours. They seem to have this better grasp on their lives as they work through their hangover and actually get stuff done the next day. They have figured out the vast mysterious world of limits and boundaries, how to properly juggle life with fun, how to properly adult.
Then there is you, lucky your friends even found a club that would let you into it. Your hands are marked with two giant Xs as a symbol to alert the bartender and anyone else near by that you are between the ages of 18 and 20-years-and-364-days. You possibly even have a neon yellow wristband to alert people from afar of your age. Is there anything else that could be added to this mix to make you feel anymore like a child? Oh yes, I almost forgot about your friends who are currently talking in baby voices at you as they cackle away.
As you drive them home, one because that is your job as their friend and, two, because you were assigned DD, you question why you even bothered to come out. Why did you decide that this was a great way to spend your Saturday night? Is cleaning puke, being spoken to as a child, and listening to the same terrible joke about their landlord five times really what your 20's are made of?
Yes, yes they are.
However, while you are going through this rough night over and over again as all of your friends slowly turn 21 before you, there is one thing that you must keep in mind. These same friends who are talking to you like a small child will soon be taking care of you. They will be directing you down the right path when it becomes your time to rent your first apartment, and they will make sure you actually do your taxes right. They will be your biggest supporter as you enter 21 because they already figured the majority of it all out by the time you reach it. And yes, they will make sure that you get home safe and sound of your birthday, no matter how terrible you are.
So, while it may suck now being the DD and listening to them talk about "boring adult" things, you'll get there soon enough and be included.
