I am not going to lie and say that I am excited that I just turned 22. I absolutely cannot stand the thought.

21 is something that I had looked forward to for a while. It's not about alcohol or anything. Just the freedom. Most bars cannot serve you a beverage that you would like to drink until you turn 21. That's if the bars even let you in, you know, because you aren't 21.

No, 21 was the absolute best year of my life. Concerts were more fun, life was more fun. Even simply going out to eat was a more enjoyable experience just because now I can have a drink to knock the edge off.

I did not need to drink a tasty beverage, it was just nice to have the option. However, I will be the first to admit that going out for the night with a group of friends and having an absolute blast is something that I got used to, and I loved every single minute of it.

Do not even get me started about how fun the casino is. Being from Pittsburgh, the casinos do not let you even walk in unless you are 21 years old. Nights out with my friends just became more enjoyable.

Now, all I can think about is being one year older. Most of my friends are still 21, and though I enjoy being able to finally say that I am "feelin' 22", I miss 21.

When I would go out and have tons of fun, people would look at me and say "ahh let her go, she's 21, just having a good time". Now, all I can think is that I am a has been. Soon people are going to be telling me that I need to settle down. But I don't want to settle down.

It isn't just that, though, people graduate college at 22. The last person that I know that got married was 22. Seventeen of my Facebook friends have had kids at 22.

22 is a big number in so many ways. The numbers that follow 22 are big, too.

Age 25 makes me nervous. When I turn 25 I will officially have lived for a quarter of a century. That's a long time.

No one should fear getting older, that is not the point of this. But this is just some food for thought. Something to think about.

I lived life until 22 thinking I had all of the time in the world, so much time to accomplish so many things. It was not until the year from 21 to 22 flew by right before my eyes. I literally blinked, and it was gone.

Enjoy your life, do not take a single moment for granted. Most importantly: learn to love your life even after 22.