There seems to be a common misconception among young people that growing up sucks. Everyone seems to believe that growing up means no longer having fun or enjoying yourself. But if that's the case, are we even really living? See, growing up and getting older, it doesn't have to be boring. It doesn't have to lead us to dull desk jobs or daily conversations about the weather.

I like to believe that I'm someone who tends to find the positive in every situation. No matter what is going on around me, I am constantly reassuring myself that everything happens for a reason and I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Ever since the day I was legally allowed to have a job, I've had one (usually two). And I owe those jobs a lot. I've learned so much about myself just from showing up to work every day. It was only within the last few months that I truly discovered my love for baking. But if I hadn't worked through those years of just working a summer job, I never would have been presented with the opportunity to try baking in a professional setting.

As I've matured and grown as a person, I've discovered so many little things that make me happy. I've learned to live in the moment and to not take anything for granted. I can't honestly say I understood that concept while I was in high school.

There are so many things we learn as we get older. We learn about our family, our friends, our coworkers, and most importantly, we learn about ourselves. We learn to recognize the things that make our hearts flutter and our eyes light up.

I've never been a morning person. Ever. Most days, I'd prefer to think the morning hours don't exist so I can sleep through them. However, discovering my passion for baking meant coming to terms with the fact that I'd need to be at work some days by 6:00am. For me, that's the middle of the night.

But I needed to take a step back and grow up. And it sucked.

But not for long.

The first few days were rough. My alarm would go off and I'd groan and snooze it as many times as I could. I'd drag myself to the bathroom and lazily throw my clothes together.

Now, I'm up as soon as (usually before) my alarm goes off. Most days, I'm ready with a half an hour to spare. Most days, I use that half hour to get a little more sleep. But if I wanted to see what I'm capable of, I needed to do whatever it took. So I spent my summer getting up before the afternoon hours. And it was worth it.

We miss out on so many opportunities because of our fear of growing up. But growing up really doesn't have to be so bad. We wake up every day and learn to adjust to a new normal. Our middle school daily routine no longer fits our college schedule. But that's part of growing up.

I have no genius advice on how to make adulthood any easier. But every day brings new opportunities. We grow more mature with every day that passes. With maturity comes respect. And with respect, anything is possible.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has always told me of our older Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents telling us to never get old. And her response was always the same: "What's the alternative?"