Do you ever wish you could grow up but not at the same time? Yeah, me too. If you're struggling with the need to skip ahead to adulthood, but to also travel back to your childhood days, I can definitely speak for that. There are days when I'm eager to grow up, and I feel as if my 'teen' years are taking an eternity. But there are also days when I am desperate to be six years old again.

There is nothing that I want more than to turn 21 and become legal, to start taking classes for my major, to graduate college, to apply for my first "big girl" job and to move on to the real world, to fall in love and get married. Part of me feels like such a baby and I can't help feeling guilty because I'm so young in comparison to others. Back in high school, I felt like the top of the chain. I was a senior last year, and our whole class looked down on everyone. I may be done with freshman year of college, but sometimes, being a sophomore doesn't seem any better. You are still an underclassman, and you are still looked down upon by many. All in all, you are still categorized in the "baby" area of the spectrum. My need to skip the next couple of years and finish college is to accomplish the task of feeling busy and accomplished, to not be babied.

On the other hand, I would love to build a time machine and travel back to the days of childhood. I miss the days of coming home from first grade, having my mom fix me a snack, and plopping down on the couch to watch cartoons. I miss the embrace of warm hugs, I miss the innocence, I miss being spoiled on birthdays and holidays with endless games and toys. I miss performing at my yearly dance recital. I miss playdates with my childhood friends, who are no longer my friends now. Heck, I even miss the old Disney Channel. I know that everyone has those days when they want nothing more than to not have to worry about schoolwork, about getting a job, about earning good grades, and maintaining relationships, mentally and emotionally. But now that we are all grown up, we have all of these, plus more to distress over. Long gone are the carefree days of elementary school. We are now college students, stuck with just simply trying to keep up with life itself, and everyone is just trying to avoid that responsibility. I don't want to grow up even more than I already am, and have to move on from school, move out of the house, find a job, and pay my own bills.

There is something that I wish everyone would know. We are still young. We still have more than half of our lives left. If we want we can still cuddle up under a warm blanket and watch childhood movies. We can still have our parents make food for us (but it may take a few tries). We can still chase after the ice cream truck. We can still act like children if we want, but just stuck in a 18-20 something year old's body. But what many don't realize, is that we are grown up as well. Although many of us aren't quite 21 and up yet, at 18, you are considered an adult. We are old enough to watch R-rated movies. We are old enough to drive a car. We are old enough to participate in the military. We are old enough to go off to college and spend our time completing endless hours of schoolwork. We are not quite at the full on post-college stage yet, but at the same time, we are still able to handle adult responsibilities, like owning a credit card and working a job. So think of the situation as this: we are old enough, but we are still young as well. We have the nostalgia of being a child, but we are furthering our path to adulthood. So truly, you should enjoy these years. How many times have you heard "Sorry, you're not old enough" when you were young? A million and one. But now you ARE old enough. And how many times have you heard from your parents or another adult, "I would kill to be your age again" or "I'm getting so old"? An infinite amount. So consider yourself lucky. You're at that perfect age right now, so enjoy this stage while it lasts.