Coming of Age.

Old person

Eighteen. An age of adulthood and an age of maturity, yet I still can’t embrace the fact that in a few days I am going to be old. Yes I said it old.

Many people will say that turning 18 is the beginning of your  life. It is when you can start college, go and have fun and  be independent, but to me it’s just another year closer to the end. I know that seems pretty sad, but for me it’s the truth.

To be honest I am expecting wrinkles to appear on my face and to find my first grey hair any second. I constantly think about how scary getting older is. As I find myself staying at home in the evenings and drinking hot tea before I go to bed I can’t help but to think old age is approaching fast.

Ok there are many benefits to getting older. For example: you may lose those teenage pimples, you can buy lottery tickets, you can see different films and even buy a house, but still many of these will never get rid of the fact that I am slowly dying.

So as I celebrate a year closer to my retirement, I can’t help to feel a little bit of sadness. I know I have many years to go but the thought that the end is approaching actually does me a favor. It makes me want to make everyday even better, embrace life and have fun. In the end I guess that is what life is all about.

I’m an adult: this means I’m better than you.

respect
As an adolescent I find myself continually being treated like a ‘kid.’ I’m 17, I can drive, make my own decisions, and yes I can dress myself. Yet to some adults they still feel that they are entitled to belittle and undermine me, all because of my age.

I’m independently applying for college and planning my life, an important future decision, yet according to some this is just not enough. I’m beginning to wonder when I will be respected as an adult.

In my eyes I reached my adulthood and gained my independence many years ago, but this is not the case in California. In England, at the age of 16 you are seen as an adult being charged higher fares. I guess age means different things in different countries and cultures. It seems that  in America you reach adulthood at the age of 18.

Some people still believe that with age comes great wisdom, but in my eyes I’m pretty wise already. I guess I will only find out these things with age, but for now I shall just enjoy being a teenager and hope for a little more respect.