When I was younger, there was only one thing I could think about: being older. When I was seven, all I wanted was to be nine so that I could ride in the passenger seat of my Mom's car. When I was eleven, all I wanted was to be thirteen so I could be a teenager. When I was thirteen, I wanted to be sixteen so that I could drive a car.

In hindsight, the years have gone by incredibly fast. It feels like just yesterday I was buying a dress for my 8th grade dance and getting new clothes for my first day of high school. Recently I've looked back on my life and thought about all those years that, at the time, I wished would go by faster. I guess the problem with the phrase "those were the days" is that you don't appreciate "those days" until they're over.

When I think back on my younger years, I can't help but feel sad that they're over. I'll never again experience the same sense of magic on Christmas Eve as I did when I believed Santa was coming. I'll never again know the bliss of being young without a care for bills or budgets, or experience the same sense of joy when my birthday comes along. When you're older, Christmas loses just a little bit of magic, birthdays begin to feel like any other day, and the worries of adult life begin to set in as you anticipate jobs and careers.

I'm currently about to enter into my junior year of college. I'm almost officially ready to enter the adult world. Soon I'll have to leave home, find a job, and accept all of the responsibilities that come with adulthood. Now I wish I had listened to my parents when they told me, "You have your whole life to be an adult. Be a kid while you can." Why was I in such a rush to grow up?

The truth is, we rush to grow up because we're excited for all of the new opportunities. We are excited to wear makeup, drive cars, own our own houses. We are excited for high school and college because they represent new opportunities and challenges. Maybe that's why we long for our childhood once it's over. Not because we really miss being a child, but more because we miss the sense of excitement for new opportunities. Once you grow up, the excitement becomes limited. But it doesn't have to be.

I am still young. There are still plenty of things I haven't experienced yet. And yes, they may be scary things, but they are exciting nonetheless. I am excited to graduate college. I'm excited to move into my first apartment and then my first house. I'm excited to get married and have children. I'm excited for my life and all it has to offer.

So while I may be scared to continue growing up, I'm also excited. But if there is one thing looking back on my childhood has taught me, it's that I should savor every moment. There are good things yet to come, but now I know that there is nothing like the present. I don't want to look back and feel sad that it's over. I want to look back and know that I enjoyed my life where I was.