There's something so nostalgic about being in your teenage years. Or so they say.

Maybe it's the lack of responsibilities or the influx of hormones never before experienced. Either way, being a teen is something glamorized in the media and by the public—I can't even count the number of older folk who have chastised me for wanting to grow older. But wanting to grow older is normal, natural even, right?

When we're young, often times we don't have serious jobs (I'm looking at you, Jamba Juice) and typically our perceptions of reality are highly skewed which makes sense. We've never had to pay medical bills or feel comfortable completing simple tasks like calling to make a doctor's appointment. Unsurprisingly, transitioning from a fairly naive state of being to one with bills and real-life consequences can be quite the shock when it happens.

So if being a teenager is overtly idolized by society, why was I freaking out about turning 20? I mean, I still can't legally drink and I've been allowed to buy lottery tickets and vote since I was 18. I guess I feel like it's all suddenly real now.

I'm caught in that awkward age where I pay taxes and go to the doctor by myself but taking my car to the dealership? Dad, where are you when I need you?! It's these types of minor growing pains that I'm facing.

A month before I turned 20 I went through something I coined as my "quarter-life crisis"; quarter because I'm still a baby and I think the issues I face will alter the world's well-being. Crisis because I nervously questioned the new territory I was embarking into. However, just because I'm young doesn't mean that I don't face a lot of transitions and hard decisions. If anything, the decisions I'm making right now have the potential to shape my life. The major I chose in college down to the internships I'm applying to all factor into the path I take in the future. And reasonably I was terrified at this marker in my short life. Just saying I'm in my 20's sounded weird so how could I live the life of a young adult like that!

Thankfully, time moves on and perceptions change. On my 20th birthday I was surrounded by wonderful friends and the realization that transitioning out of my teens might not be so awful. Although at times challenging, realistically a year of change doesn't mean I have to have my future mapped out. I've coined these few years as my trial and error period of life—a necessary step into adulthood.

So yeah, every year I become more responsible, I'd like to think more mature and also increasingly more in tune with what my future looks like, but does that mean I need to have it all figured out? No. Taking a breather every once in awhile to enjoy the ride truly helps as I take these necessary steps toward my bright future.