I’m turning 19 soon. It's kind of a jarring thing for me to accept. For the first time in my life, I’m not looking forward to my birthday. This isn’t because I’m any less loved or happy this year, but more so that I’m fast approaching the end of my teenage years.
And that's honestly terrifying.
I love being a teenager. It’s good to know that I’m considered an adult and I have the ability to make my own decisions, but I can retreat to my lack of wisdom when I fail to do so. I know I won't have that much safety when I finally am a full-fledged adult at the age of 20.
Which got me thinking. There have to be some 19-year-olds that have or had their life together far better than I would ever dream to. The results were pretty interesting, so here are five people who did amazing things at the age of 19.
1. Mark Zuckerberg created the earliest version of Facebook.
2. Oprah was working on Channel 5's news.
3. Alexander the Great became King of Macedonia.
4. Martin Luther King was ordained into the Baptist ministry.
5. Marquis de Lafayette joined the Revolutionary War willingly and without pay. This act allowed the war to turn in favor of the colonies.
After I discovered this handful of people, the sources became dodgier and the accomplishments became less and less amazing. It was more of “this person set the foreground of success”, rather than becoming a gazillionaire overnight.
At any rate, it makes the transition from 18 to 19 feel better. There's still room to fail. There's still time to get my life sorted out.
Maybe I can save the crazy accomplishment stage to 20.
