Well this is finally it. I turned 18 years old this past month. Let me just say, being 18 is honestly a little bit scary. I am technically “legal” now in the United States. I didn’t truly understand the meaning of that until we got to the point of me actually turning 18.

During my senior year of high school, I watched all of my friends turn 18 as I just sat back and watched them all go through to be adults. Meanwhile, I was still there. I was still just a kid to everyone.

Now, I turned 18 and how do I feel? Honestly, I feel about the same, but I feel like I have also learned a lot. Even though legally I am an adult now, I still feel like a happy old child with a bit of maturity left within me.

Feeling like a child though is not a bad thing, at least in my book it isn’t. It gives you a chance to still explore things with an open mind that still has a bit of spirit to it. To me, most adult minds today don’t see as much of a positive outlook on things that some younger children do nowadays. In no way is being an adult a bad thing because there are a good chunk of adults nowadays, and those adults do have the good mindset.

I know I slightly got distracted from my main topic, but yeah, I recently turned 18. My family was able to come up and see me at college. It was a great day with them, but sitting in my bed that night made me think of more things.

Time flies faster than I thought. Even though I know a lot has happened within that time, it is still scary to think about. I can’t believe how much has passed and how many things I have done. Just think about all your accomplishments, experiences, and journeys up to this point. It is quite amazing. Some things have been bad and there have been bad days, but those are apart of life. I get that a lot more now because of the good things that have come after. Life does get hard and things do get bad, but good things always do come for those who wait, and for those who keep working hard at what they do.

Hard work pays off for those who keep at it and don’t give up. For me, I discovered this in the past year of my life. The end to my senior year resulted in a lot of great awards for my accomplishments and getting into the top ten percent (which was seven people) of my tiny senior class of about 70 people was a top honor. I am still really proud of that to this day. I am still super proud of what I have done, but college has made me super proud of myself too.

I thought when I started college that I would never be able to be away from my family, but I am surprisingly impressing myself with how well I have been doing! I absolutely love the whole experience of pretty much living with my friends. My roommate is amazing and I love her so much. I absolutely love everyone I have met, and everything is a much better social atmosphere now than everyone knowing your every minute move in high school. That can be an annoying thing, but here at college, I know just enough people to where I don’t feel like an absolute stranger everywhere I go. That feeling is really nice! With all of the friends I have here at college and all of the great things I am already doing, I feel like sometimes I barely remember that I miss home, though I still do think about my family all the time.

I never forget about those that truly care about me, which is my family. I absolutely love them too much! They have been the ones that have been and will always be there for me throughout my entire life. All of them have helped me throughout every step of my journey and I am so thankful for that everyday. I know they are there for me always, and that they are the people I always still remember and think about.

Basically, when I turned 18, I reflected and realized I learned a lot more and discovered a lot more than I ever thought I knew. My life, I bet, will continue to be an adventure as I travel through my year of being 18 and beyond.