Growing up is a funny thing. You can't wait to grow up when you're little but the second you start having adult responsibilities, you wish you could go back to second grade, learning to write cursive and playing kickball at recess. There are some people who grow up gracefully and everything seems to come so easy for them. Then there are others, like me, who feel like growing up is just one giant hot mess.
Although I'm not completely independent from my parents yet, I feel like I have a solid grasp on "the real world." Yes, I'll still go out to parties and bars and drink margaritas in the middle of the afternoon occasionally, but I also know how to balance my checkbook, pay for rent, hold down a job while in school and doing a million extracurriculars, and how to change my flat tire/jump start my car. My outside exudes confidence while my insides want to curl up into a tiny ball and cry from all the pressure. Thus, my personal favorite motto my old band director used to say, "Fake it 'til you make it."
This is pretty much the secret that's held my life together so easily over the last 7 years. I've been faking it until I become confident enough to do it without second guessing. I can make choices at the drop of a hat and feel comfortable in my choice. I'm still learning, but faking confidence has helped me actually achieve confidence.
Growing up isn't always easy, but it's necessary. Growing up means learning to be responsible, doing your laundry in a timely manner (I'm still working on this one) and becoming independent. It means making choices for you, regardless of what people think. Being in college is the time to be selfish and go after what you want most. It's okay to put your needs before someone else's, but don't be rude about it. Growing up means learning and willing to put your childish antics away. There will always be a time and place to bring those back out, but the "real world" isn't one of them.
Every year, I find that I grew personally and developed new skills. Every year, I become more confident and happy with the person I'm becoming. Don't get me wrong. There are still plenty of things I need to work on, but for being in my early 20s, I feel like I've got it down just right.
I'm not perfect and neither are my friends. Yes, we still make stupid mistakes. We learn from the mistakes we made, from our friends mistakes and our parent's wisdom. Then, we get to turn around and teach our own kids how to grow up. Even though you may not think you've grown up completely, I promise you that you've grown intellectually and personally.
