People grow up wanting to be older. Children can never wait until the next birthday and the next and the next; especially those milestone birthdays: 10, 16, 18, 21. This September I will be 22 years old. I have passed all of the childhood "milestones." It is at this point where the milestone birthdays are all those decades you hit, including 30, 40, 50, 60, and so on. The difference is that no one wants to rush to those birthdays. When you are a kid the time just seems to drag on and on. The school year is endless and the long summer days last a lifetime. Once you are near adulthood, you notice how time really does fly. Just when you get used to writing 5/day/year on your papers, it turns into 6/day/year and so on. It never seems to slow down. While growing up, my grandpa always called me his "Little Monster Baby" and told me to never grow up. I tried to listen but the months turned into years, the number of candles on my cake kept increasing, and I kept getting a little bit taller. This is life. It's funny how people speak of childhood and how the way you spend the first 18 years of your life will determine the type of person you will be for the rest of your life. I never wanted to grow up. I wasn't one of those children trying to rush through life. I have been rushing through college but that is only because I just want to be finished with all the schooling. At this point in my life I am nearing the beginning of my career as an educator and I am finding that my youth is a positive thing in many aspects, however, it certainly is a struggle at times. When I am among a classroom full of high school students I find it hard to be the adult in the room when these students, in reality, aren't much younger than me. There are way too many times when I have been reprimanded by other teachers for "not being where I am supposed to be" because they thought I was a student, it didn't matter how professionally dressed I was. The problem with being young these days is that people don't always take you as seriously as they would if you were older. I know that I am not experienced as an educator but I am still intelligent and have ideas and thoughts to offer. Today I began a two week class that is a writing workshop retreat. I am surrounded by beautiful nature and I am only minutes away from the beach, but I am also surrounded by women who are all years of experienced teachers and most of them older than my own mother. It is imitating to be the only student among these women and I feel as if they are all looking at me as if I am a friend of their own children. I am trying to keep a positive attitude during all of this, though. I am excited for this workshop and have been looking forward to it for months. Times like this I like to wish I was older but then I realize that my youth is to envy. When I am older I will regret all the days I didn't live to the fullest as a young woman. I work too hard and often never made time for fun. At the start of this year I decided to change that. I realized that I am still so young and that I have so much life ahead of me. I realized that if time is flying by as fast as it is right now, I can only image how much faster it will be as I get older. It is important to make time for yourself and time to do fun things. I love being able to spend time with my friends and have new adventures. Being young is glorious and very, very short lived. When people say to live life to the fullest, you really should! You never know what can happen within not only a day, but within minutes. You whole world can be turned upside down, or even put to an end in merely seconds. Never let something like age define you or hold you back. Just life your life day by day and don't try to rush things. But also remember, that you are as young as you feel. You should continue to be adventurous and try new things even as you age, especially as you age. People sometimes start to slow down because they get busy with life and they care for their families more than themselves. I believe that you should always care for your loved ones but you must never forget to love and care for yourself. All too often if you ask someone to name all the things they love, naming themselves will never make the list or will be way towards the end. I wish for people to begin loving themselves more and accepting their age for what it is. Don't rush it and never be ashamed of it. All of those women who celebrate their "29th birthday for 20 years in a row" are so scared of growing older because society makes it seem like the fun is going to end but it never has to and really never should. My great-grandma just turned 80 years old and when I was little she always used to tell me that "Life is short, eat dessert first." This simple little quote really are words to live by.
Just in case no one has told you yet today, you are beautiful!
Love, Lex <3
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