We've all been there. We wish we were older so that our parents couldn't tell us what to do. We wish we were at the age that we had our driver's license or could legally drink. There are also times when we wish that we were younger so that we wouldn't have to go to work or could do nothing but play all day with no judgement. It hits you in waves. Becoming an adult and growing up in general is scary. It's a combination and struggle of longing to go back, but wanting to move forward. You want to be old enough to do what you want, but young enough to still hold onto some of that innocence.

At times, like being a senior in high school, all you wish for is to be able to do it all over again. But, when you're a freshman in college, those feelings go away because you are so content with all the newness that surrounds you. Unfortunately, it comes back again by the end of sophomore year, when you can't believe you are going to be a junior next year and that college is basically over because soon, you'll be a senior. It's scary to think about life without school when you enter the real world after graduation. It can be exciting, defining yourself further and making a name and life for yourself, by yourself. In the same breath, it is scary to think about, and it goes quicker than you think. You miss being that wide-eyed kid and feeling as though you have all the time in the world, but you also love some of the freedom you have as you are older. You try not to lose that part of you, but are constantly told you have to mature and have to make those decisions that at one time seemed like they would be made in another lifetime.

It's easy to want to go back to the time when you were making all these plans for the future. That's the fun part. It is scary to actually go out and get it because you don't know if you can, or if you do, will they measure up to what you'd thought it be like? Will making these goals be just as fun as living them out? But if you do it right, the plans can be just as great as the real thing. Sometimes we long to be able to make these plans a reality and wish we were old enough that we could define ourselves in new ways. On the other hand, we get scared to grow up when we don't know what our next step is. It can be daunting seeing others that knew exactly what they wanted from day one and here you are clueless as can be, with the fear of the unknown.

It truly is a love/hate relationship growing up. You start off wanting more all the time. You wish you would be trusted more to do things on your own and have more responsibility, but when that time comes you want to run away from the hard stuff that comes with age and back to the comfort of making plans as a little kid instead of having to execute them as an adult. But let me tell you, as scary as it is, when you do go out and get it, you won't be so scared anymore. Each phase of life is met with wishing you were another age, but if you take the time to experience each one as it comes, the adventure will expel your fear and exceed your expectations.