In our society age determines a lot of things we do. Society can often judge us on what age we begin doing things or not doing things. By 8 one should know how to tie their own shoes. By 18 one should know how to drive. By 25 one should live on their own. By 40 one should be “adulting.”

By 60 we all hope to be retired.

While there are many things that we all hope to accomplish by a certain age, we can also be under estimated by our age. Especially at my age. Freshman year, I began hearing the phrase “oh, you're just in high school.” Even in middle school, I heard the same thing; Except then I was told, “oh you’re just a kid.”

For the first nine years of my life, I was an only child.

Often, adults were the only ones around me. At a young age I learned how to have mature conversations when to talk, when not to talk, and proper manners. Once I was around kids they began to annoy me. Of course, once I got to third grade I found kids I could tolerate and began to make more friends.

This lead to middle school where I began taking more advanced courses which kept me in classes with the other advanced students. This trait still holds true to me. I take many courses which push my limits academically. Of course, now I’ve learned how to loosen up a bit and have a little fun.

I started my first job at 13 in 7th grade when I began tutoring other students. I’m now in 10th grade and still tutoring. I know also write for my town paper. And obviously, I write on here too. I’ve always been involved in multiple clubs and programs from athletics to student council, to FFA (Future Farmers of America).

Being involved so much as given me the opportunity to meet lots of people. Many of the people have guessed I’m four or more years older than I actually am. I’ve had multiple situations where adults were serious about getting me into their programs, office, or even hiring me for a different job; that’s until they find out how old I am.

People say age is just a number, and that’s correct in my opinion. I just wish adults saw kids in that way. This isn’t an article to change your mind on how age effects our lives, but an article to make you realize that it doesn’t always matter.