You are now seventeen years old. So what is it like? Here are the good and the bad of being seventeen.

The Good

1. You’re almost there

You are just one year shy of adulthood. It is both exciting and terrifying, however mostly exciting.

2. School has come to a (tentative) end

You have been in school ever since you could remember, and now you are at the final stage. Live it up, you’re only seventeen once!

3. New opportunities

At this point in your life there are many opportunities available to you, such as the ability to work part-time and achieve your driver’s license! Though seventeen is not the youngest age to begin working, it is around the time when money starts to seem more important, and having some feels good!

4. You can see Rated R movies without an adult

You can now see Sausage Party without your parents (if that suits your fancy).

5. The next step

Whether you are attending college or entering the working world straight out of high school, the future is exciting!

The Bad

1. You still are not eighteen

It can be frustrating, you just want to be treated like an adult yet people just don’t.

2. It is stressful

On the flip side of the excitement, this is a stressful age. Figuring out where you want to see yourself after high school is just the beginning. There’s a monthly occurrence known as bills, and any middle-class adult would know they are not fun to deal with. You will be there at some point.

3. You still cannot (legally) buy booze

Sorry kids, you’ll have to wait until you are twenty-one for that privilege.

4. Expectations

At this age we are expected to transition into adulthood, yet many of us just want the simpler days when all we had to know was how to have fun.

5. The next step

On the flip side (college kids unite) there is this long process where seniors in high school apply to higher education in chase of their dream careers. It is extremely exciting, yet finding, visiting, and applying to each college and financing out each school can be stressful while also focusing on your classes in high school.

You are only seventeen once, and as many wish they could be seventeen again like Zac Efron, such a method of reverse-aging has not yet been discovered. Enjoy your youth!