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Turning 18

not all it's hyped up to be

By Bryce RobinsonPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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Eighteen : Adult (not really)

My whole life, I have looked forward to being an “adult.” I was always independent by nature and longed for the freedom my protective parents refused to give me.

“Eighteen. I just have to make it to eighteen.” lies

The truth is. Nothing has changed. Legally — yes. A lot has changed legally, but that does not automatically cause your parents to let you take off and explore far off places by yourself, or even delete Life 360 off your phone. The truth is, I might as well be a 16 year old girl who just got her license.

Let’s see. What can I legally do but not really?

Clubbing? Forget about it. Vote? Yes, I can do that one. In fact I am encouraged; even though I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to politics. Buy a lottery ticket? With what money? Get a job? Does babysitting count? Skydive? This one is my favorite. My plan is to sneak it into a weekend trip with my friend sometime in the Spring. Wish me luck. Go to jail? This one is also pretty exciting although I am not really sure what it would actually take for me to get arrested. But hey, at least now if I do, I have a chance to be a character in Orange is the New Black.

In case you haven’t spotted the trend, my life has not really changed at all. Other than the fact that I am now somewhat responsible for whether or not that orange guy gets back into the Oval Office.

Okay, I guess I can’t really say that nothing has changed. In reality, this period of my life is a whole whirlwind of change. Pretty soon, I will be graduating from high school, leaving home, and going to college. I will be making all new friends (while obviously keeping my old ones), going on new adventures, deleting Life 360, and creating my own life as a so-called adult.

I am pumped for college. Living with all my friends right down the hall for four years? Yes please.

Although as excited as I am. I am also not entirely ready. If you are a senior, you know exactly what I am talking about.

Ever since freshman year, I couldn’t wait to graduate. But eventually, I learned to enjoy high school. You know — made a few friends, played sports, and got involved in just about everything under the sun. So, while school itself still continues to be a burden I can’t wait to escape (how ironic that I want to leave just to go to more school, but I digress), the friendships I made and environment that feels just like home are going to be hard to leave.

I am going to miss my mom packing my lunch, driving my brother to school every morning and arguing over who gets the aux based on how well we know the words to the next song, sneaking out late for McDonald’s, going to baseball games just to play beach volleyball, searching Max Preps for the cute guy on the other school’s basketball team, going to trampoline parks and trying new foods, freezing my butt off at the state championship football game, going tubing and getting blobbed at the lake, decorating senior crowns, crushing everyone in Mario Kart, thrifting every Saturday with my dad, putting bikes in trees, watching New Girl every day in study hall instead of doing homework, skipping class to eat breakfast with friends, and waiting until the absolute last minute possible to write an essay.

So, I guess when it all comes down to it, I’m glad high school isn’t quite over yet. I am not ready. I will be — but we still have a few months and I am going to enjoy every second.

So, yes, I am eighteen, and yes I have accepted the fact that I am not an adult. Honestly, the new plan is to stay a kid forever. Who ever said that just because you pay bills, you can’t watch Disney movies and build forts with your friends? I may not be able to understand what a primary election is, but I can watch Toy Story 4 and cry my eyes out forever.

Also, I WILL SKY DIVE. You can quote me on that.

humanity
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