Do you remember wishing that you were a teenager? Wishing that you could do all the things that the older kids could? Those times weren’t all that long ago for most of us who are graduating this year, the class of 2016. Honestly, for anyone who is graduating this year, those times aren’t all that far away. My mom used to try and tell me that I should get good grades, study and prepare myself for this transition. As I’m sure some of you know or have gone through yourself, you don’t always listen right away. That’s how I spent the last year of my life before adulthood, catching up and getting ready for what was to come.

It’s a scary transition, that last year before you turn 18 (or 17 if you're a young’in) and have to start thinking about college, where to get a job, how to balance a checkbook, where to even get a check book and most of all “what you want to do with your life.” I know that after hearing “what do you want to do with your life” and “where do you want to go to college” more than thrice a day, I was about to lose my mind. Not because I dislike that people care about me, but because I wasn’t ready to let go of my last few months of freedom and think about all the life decisions that I was going to have to make. I didn’t know if I was ready to move into a dorm, or if I even wanted to do that. I didn’t know whether or not I wanted to go to community college or a university. I didn’t want to be thought of as below my peers because I was going to choose community over university because of cost. There were many things that were on my mind and, I can only assume, on the minds of other students in similar positions. I received a lot of tough love from my mom, pushing me to make some sort of plan so that I wouldn’t have to go through what she went through. She wanted to support me and thrive while all I could do was panic and bounce back between ideas of what I wanted in life.

That last year before I turned 18 was too fast. “I didn’t live it to the fullest, I didn’t do all of what I wanted to do, etc.” These sorts of thoughts passed through my head as I moved through senior year. Drama consumed a lot of my time, anxiety flooded my mind, and I thought that I could make it all up this year. But it was too late. I had become an adult, I had gotten a job, was busy with my family and was trying to do my homework while balancing that with my friends. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted so much to be a kid, and I still do, but I knew that it was unreasonable.

And then the New Year came. Two months after I stepped into adulthood, one month after I left my first job, a couple weeks after I auditioned for a school play. This was my last chance, I thought, to show that school spirit I lacked all four years. The play came and went, taking up a significant portion of my time. My mom all but stressed because she knew I was trying to cling to the childhood I desperately wanted to hold onto. This was the first time I saw my mom so panicked because she didn’t think I knew that it was time to grow up and be an adult. April rolled around and I began looking for jobs because adults have “real jobs” and don’t just watch kids. I’ve lost count of how many jobs that I’ve applied to by now. I’ve done a couple interviews and I’ve gotten a job here and there. I realized that this was what it would be like if I didn’t seriously take hold of my future and let go of my childhood.

We are now into mid-May and many graduates know that the pressure is on. Finals, graduation, jobs, and college; that’s all that is on our minds. Aiming to please but also aiming to not blow up our parent's wallets. Applying for scholarships like crazy until the final bell.

This year, we all become adults, whether we really want to or not.

It’s important for students like me to know that you’re not alone in your struggle. That the transition to adulthood is going to take some time and that your parents are definitely there to support you if you just ask them. To those who haven’t yet reached senior year and are thinking they have all the time in the world, listen to your parents. Have fun but be smart about it. Parents, please support your kids like my mom did me. Without her, I know that I would be floundering and failing in learning how to be an adult and how to set a goal that leads me to success. Reassure them that they’re not losing everything, just moving onto another level in the game. Maturing doesn’t mean you can’t stay young and do the things you like. Those things we need to hear.

The year I became an adult is already six months in. In the last two months, I have been accepted to the college I want to go to, know what classes to take and how I should apply for FAFSA and other scholarships. I learned what to wear to an interview and how to present myself. I learned how to make a resume.

But most of all, I learned how to be an adult but still manage to be a “kid.”