Okay, so let's face it, when we turn 18 it's a huge deal and the fact that we aren't 21 doesn't even matter because now we can buy cigarettes (even though we don't smoke), we can play the lottery (even though we won't win), we can get credit cards (even though we don't need them) and most importantly, we can legally get into most bars and clubs without any confrontation. However, once you get to college, the whole "not being 21 thing" starts to matter because all your friends are older than you and when you go to the local sports bar, they all have red rockets but when the waitress comes over, you have to ask for a Diet Coke because you couldn't have been born three years earlier... We can all thank our parents for that one.
Anyways, as you spend more and more time in college you meet someone who knows the waitress, so she won't ID you, you meet someone who will buy drinks separately and hand them to you, you might get a fake ID or everyone will just see you so often that they think you're 21 and don't have to think twice about it. You get to live this weird dream of being 21 because in your small college town, everyone believes you are, but it starts to get awkward when the out of town invites come and you have to remind people that you have not yet turned 21 and that you don't really have a way to get into these new places unless your friends have some sort of connection.
Then, your birthday rolls around and because no one is really sure how old you are, they never put an age in the super cute Instagram caption because they don't want to mess up and look like a bad friend... Trust me, I've seen that and it is an awkward situation to be put in. Your younger friends ask you to buy them alcohol and they think you are so cool until you remind them that you actually can't go into the liquor store because...you're not 21 and then you feel like you let them down because they were really excited about that big, cheap bottle of Fireball. Lastly, your older friends are careful about what they invite you to because they don't want to feel bad when they invite you to this awesome bar in midtown that you can't get into but they also don't want to be bad friends and make you feel excluded either, so out of pity, they will throw a party at their apartment just so you and some of your other underage friends can hang out with them.
Once more and more people begin to remember how old you are, it feels weird because you never had to worry about people remembering your age before you came to college and now it's a big deal. But don't worry, the time flies and 18-20 goes by so fast that once you do turn 21, you look back and think, "Damn. Where has the time gone?" and you'll also start to realize the depressing fact that your birthdays won't be as fun because after you turn 21, no one cares anymore because it's time to be an adult and you can't just get wasted in the middle of the week.
