All throughout high school, I couldn’t wait to be in college and have complete control over my life. I couldn’t wait for the day that I didn’t have to ask permission to go somewhere or to do something. I couldn’t wait for the complete freedom that came with growing up. Two years later, I’m looking back and upset with myself for wishing my time away. There’s no way to explain the other, not so good, things about growing up. The endless responsibilities, the bills and the major decisions that you have to make on your own.

The most difficult decision to make is what to do with my life. People are always asking me what my dream career is, where I want to live and what my life is going to look like in a few years. To be honest, I have no idea. I’m still trying to figure out who I am as an individual and I don’t have a clue what my dream career is. After two years of classes, I’m getting closer to being able to answer this million dollar question but I still can’t answer it with complete confidence.

Being broke and having no money for really anything is also another downfall with growing up. In high school, I had my parents to hold my hand and pay for anything I really needed, but they can’t really do that when it comes to college bills. I made a decision to go to college and pay the extra money in hopes that one day having that college degree would help me. I don’t regret this decision at all, but when I look at all the loans and what my payments will be when I do finally finish, it’s a little scary. Along with college loans and bill payments comes the need for money to buy groceries, gas, entertainment, etc. These are the things that were probably paid for in high school and now it’s up to me. Learning to budget what little money I do have is a completely different story. One that I haven’t quite figured out yet.

Two years after moving out of the house and being on my own, I’m realizing how good I had it for the first 18 years of my life. Sometimes I wish someone would just tell me what to do. I wish I could have someone making all these major decisions for me so I wouldn’t have to stress about it anymore. I sometimes wish for this, but then I think about how much fun it actually is to make these decisions on my own. The best part about growing up is how much I have learned about myself and everything else in this crazy world. I feel like I’ve learned more in these years than I did in 18 years at home. Growing up challenges me in every aspect of life and in the long run is going to be what makes me successful when I finally am finished with college and am faced with those loan payments and other bills that come with being on my own. So, my suggestion is to not wish your time away but look forward to growing up. It might be a struggle, but it’s 100 percent worth it.