Twenty years. That is a long, long time. In the last week of my 20th year of life, it is fitting for me to look back on everything that happened during those 7,305 days. Most of it I probably cannot remember, but the best parts, I can. It is hard to admit to myself that I am going to be 20, because that means I can no longer call myself a teenager.
Yep, that’s right. The infamous teen years are over, and with it left so many other things. You first remember that year you turned 13. How freakin’ cool was that — you weren’t 12 anymore; no — your age now had the suffix "teen." Oh, the possibilities! All those things you had dreamt about — staying out until 10 instead of nine, getting your very own home phone in your bedroom, finally being able to get your ears pierced — they were now possible.
And then you were 15. Drivers training had started, and you crossed your fingers that you had a friend in the class to be your driving partner. You couldn’t wait; just a few more months and you would be able to drive around, listening to the CDs you burned from your desktop computer while going to pick up your friends so you could get some ice cream, just because there was nothing else to do.
Eighteen years old. This birthday was filled with “finally legal” and lotto tickets. You felt old, oh man did you feel old. You get to call yourself an adult now — whoa. Senior year was coming to an end, and you were so excited to start the next chapter of your life. You were about to become a big, bad college kid. You didn’t realize how much you would miss 18.
Nineteen was your first year of college. You celebrated with your new friends, not those who had celebrated every other birthday with you. Maybe you even celebrated at a sketchy house party because, hey, that’s what we college kids do. It was weird, but it was also great. Your life was new and different and … fun.
And now 20. As I sit here, about to be able to call myself a girl “in her 20s,” I can’t help but think back on how much my "teens" rocked.
It was a period of time when I was so carefree, thinking ahead only to decide what I was going to wear for the football game Friday night (my Sperrys or my Uggs?).
High school sports were what I lived for. My teammates were my family, and my life goal was to "go all the way." I thought if I was a few minutes late to practice that my life was over; I could never come back from that. That moment when I finally made the varsity team was one of the very best things to ever happen to me, and it made all those early Saturday mornings and after-school practices worth every second.
Homework sucked and midterms were the worst thing anyone could have dreamt up, but at least you could drive over to your best friend’s house and study together.
A lot of the time I thought I would never make it through. So much hurt, so many hard decisions. You’re stuck in a world where all that matters are the clothes you buy and the people you hang out with on Friday night. Sitting down at the “wrong” lunch table every day, knowing you aren’t good enough to sit over there. These are the things I will never miss about my teens.
But even though I put myself through some awful situations and stressed myself out too much, I learned a countless number of things as a teen.
I learned that real friends will stick by your side no matter what; real friends don’t really fight (that is some sort of urban legend). They don’t have any reason to fight because you know each other too well to do anything wrong.
I learned to never judge someone before you actually sit down and take the time to know them (they may end up being one of your best friends…).
I learned to not take life so seriously — as long as you work hard, it is all going to work out in the end for the best.
I learned too many things about myself as a person than I can even fit on this page.
I learned that it is important to go outside of your comfort zone and explore — you might be surprised by what you discover.
I learned that even though you might pick up and leave your home, it will always be there when you get back. And there is no better feeling than knowing that.
With 20 years of life behind me, it is hard to not feel sad. That is a whole two decades, done and over with. Years I will never get back. But thinking about all that I have done in those 20 years, I like to think that I made the most of them. So many great things happened, and it only makes me more excited for the next 20. My life is going to change significantly in the next two decades, and I can’t wait to see how.
