My eyes have seen way too much of Facebook, to be honest. Too much of the bickering, too much of the opinions, and too much of the judgement. But all of those things will never be equivalent to the annoyance in my heart when I see a meme or a quote talking about how awful it is to grow up. Believe me, I perceive how many things are seriously trying about getting older. Wrinkles, responsibilities, work—need I say more? But here is a list of things that are truly priceless in my eyes about growing up.
1. Knowing your self-worth.
I truly feel like this one comes with age. The way I see it is that you finally start accepting your failures and start realizing that you have spent your whole life working, enduring, and striving to become the person you are, why not have self-respect? At this point, your standing up act of martyrdom letting someone walk all over you and forgiving them time and time again.
2. Not having to answer to anyone.
I’ve never really had parents that didn’t let me go and do with my friends, but I had a few friends whose parents kept a ridiculously tight leash on them. When you get older, you start tasting what it’s like not having to answer to anyone. Sometimes we get a little crazy when we get out into the world and this causes us to make a few mistakes, but at the end of the day, there is no feeling like knowing you have free reign to do what you please and be who you please.
3. Having your own money.
Everyone loves money, but everyone hates asking for it. As we begin to get more mature, our need to fend for ourselves gets greater and greater. (Well, most of us.) I can’t say that I am completely independent from my parents because they still like to help me out every now and then, but knowing you have your own money and you worked tirelessly empowers you on another level.
4. Weddings.
I presume this one is random, but I love weddings. I am currently planning one and that is kind of hard, but there’s just something about being in the presence of so much love that gives us hope. We’ve all dreamed about the moment where we will be forever bound to the one person we can’t live without. Visualizing someone take a vow and living in one of the greatest moments of their life is unshakeable. Plus there’s great food, cake, dancing, and a chance you could meet someone of your own.
5. Marriage.
This one, I haven’t technically got to yet. Although, I have been living with the man of my dreams for almost two years and am currently raising our child together. (I know, we do everything backwards.) In my heart, I am already married to him. I know that I will spend the rest of my life waking up and saying goodnight to him. We will spend some of the best moments of our lives together. I truly feel like I didn’t know what happiness was until I met him. So I can only imagine how I will feel when we finally have the same last name. (HA) I won’t lie to you, it is tough living together and making life altering decisions together, but there is no one else in this world I could imagine pestering until the day I die!
6. Children/Parenting.
The greatest joy of life. All of you who have read my blog posts can obviously tell the adoration leaking out of me for my child. I am obsessed with him. When a child comes into your life, it changes you. It gives you purpose. It is the hardest job in the world to parent a child. Seriously. But at the end of the day, when your sitting there un-showered and absolutely exhausted, you wouldn’t take anything for your children. But I will say it has it’s ups and downs. Parent shaming is real and something I hope is diminished by the time I have another child. (Not likely.) Besides, we were all perfect parents until we had children.
7. Settling down.
Some readers may look at this negatively, I say that is crazy talk. I love coming home and cooking dinner. Even though I love my sweet baby boy to pieces, I also love the time I get to spend by myself sitting on the couch watching Netflix until I pass out when he’s put to bed. I now don’t feel the need to go out all of the time and constantly meet new people and post my life on 15 different social media platforms. I am content living in the moment. This doesn’t mean that you won’t constantly be on the go though. You will, but you never have a hard time saying, “No” to people anymore and I love that.
8. A stronger relationship with your parents.
This one has to be one of the superlative of this list. The older you get, the more you start registering that your parents aren’t against you, they are for you. I realized this before I had a child, but boy the emotions that flooded me when I looked into my kids eyes the first time and looked up at my teary-eyed mom. You gain a new understanding of your parents’ love for you when you have your own. You begin perceiving that they truly were mostly right. I’ve always been close to my family, but as the years go by, the love just gets stronger. You spend more time thinking of things you said to them when you were young and wishing to take them back. No matter where life takes me, my parents have always took the road with me. Now I‘m more grateful than ever for that.
9. True friendships.
Thank God. I’ve never been top of the line at choosing friends. I’ve had a lot of friends that hurt me repeatedly. And the funny thing is, I let them. (SMH.) But it is at this point in my life I use the saying, “It’s better to have four quarters than one hundred pennies.” I have a few friends, and a sister, that have changed my life. And I’m not using that term lightly. I mean it. I would not be the same person without them. I now appreciate having fewer friends that truly want what’s best for me. To me, this is priceless.
Look, I get it: Growing up is a struggle. But don’t let anyone fool you, the happiest moments of my life have been spent after college. Don’t get discouraged, the best is yet to come!
“She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.” Proverbs 31:25
