Grow up. These are two words that teenagers hear very frequently, and two words that they do not want to make into a reality. I, myself, am one of these teenagers that wishes she could stay young and dare I say careless forever. The thought of ever leaving the home you were raised in doesn't even seem like a real possibility. It's almost something that is expected but seems so far out of reach. Being a teenager requires little work, and a lot of play. Especially while in high school the only extent of responsibility is maybe a a part time job and school work. But then you move on into the college years and are slowly introduced to what the real world is like. You are forced to live on your own and figure out a way to take care of yourself. Responsibilities pile up and on top of that you need to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life. Nothing, in my opinion, is scarier than that. Being forced to choose one thing to do seems impossible. How do you know you'll choose something that makes you happy? Makes you a decent living to support yourself, and someday maybe even a family? It's a decision that becomes incredibly overwhelming, but ultimately has to be made. And although it is scary, you should always keep this in the back of your mind; you will create your own path in life to follow that will lead you to where you are meant to be. Sometimes you may feel as if you want to give up, but never give into the negativity. Life was never guaranteed to be an easy task, and sometimes difficult times make you that much stronger. Success is earned with hard work and a few bumps in the road along the way. You need to experience bad times to truly appreciate the good times. So yes, we are often told it is time to "grow up" but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just means that certain things are meant to be left in the past in order for your life to truly blossom into what it's supposed to be, and to prosper. Grow up, but never grow out of the person you know you are.