I remember turning thirteen and being so excited that I was finally a teenager! But after a few months, I couldn't help but wish I was sixteen. Then after that, all I thought about was finally turning eighteen and becoming an adult.
Being nineteen now, my mind usually skips between wishing I was twenty one and wishing I could go back to being thirteen. When I look back, I realize how often I wished away my teenage years. I constantly wanted to be older instead of just allowing myself to live in the moment. I never really stopped to think that we only have seven short years devoted to being a teenager. For some people, that is a blessing, but for people like me, it's not enough time. I spent the first half of my teens trying to be like everyone else and the other half worrying about boys. In my last year as a teenager, I am finally spending my time focusing on myself.
Seven years. Oh, how those seven years flew by! Looking back, everyone can remember their first kiss; their first love, first heartbreak. Every girl can remember the first time she got to wear makeup and every guy can remember introducing his first girlfriend to his mom. Once you get older, you don't realize how much all of these things are taken for granted. People tend to look back on their teenage years and focus on all of the "what if's". It is so easy to kick yourself for what you could have said or even what you shouldn't have.
As you are reading this article, I hope you take a minute to forget the "what if's" and focus on the "what happened". At any age, it is so simple to dwell on the bad rather than focus on the good. With only a few months left of of my nineteenth year, I wish to myself to live it well; to be able to look back on these past seven years and have no remorse. We only get this one life, and they say our teens are the years where we learn how to express ourselves. So, go out there and express yourself. Be who you are and don't be afraid. But don't wish away these years. I know you feel as if you'll never be viewed as an adult, but trust me, that time will come. Until then, don't rush the process, enjoy your teens.
