Being 18 isn't such a big deal after. Or is it?

Sarah Bozarth

The grass is always greener when you want to be older.

Ever since I can remember I looked forward to being a teenager. Once I was a teenager, I couldn't wait until I could drive. When I got my license it was only one more year until I didnít have a city curfew, and only one more year after that until I turned 18: a legal adult in the eye of the law.

Whew! What a responsibility.

As exciting at it was turning 18 and getting all those new privileges like being able to get a piercing without having to have one of my parents there, I got some extra responsibilities, like having to go to court for a speeding ticket without your parents (yikes!).

From my own experiences, since Iíve turned 18 (which was a whole 8 months ago) I have learned a lot, more than I thought I would learn, considering everyone always asks what it feels like to be a year older on your birthday, and it never feels any different.

Of course, as soon as my birthday came, I went out and did everything I could do with my new freedom. I bought cigarettes (even though I donít smoke), I got a lottery ticket (I won $5), I got my cartilage pierced (against my momís wishes), and I even went into the "forbidden " section of the movie store (not as big a deal as I had thought; you can so go in there without being 18).

With all the fun new things I got to do, I also got to go through some not so fun ones. I got my first ticket, and I had to go to court to argue for myself, by myself (which actually was kind of fun because the judge had a mustache like Charlie Chaplain).

I also got the privilege to vote, and in a good amount of time to vote for the referendum. But as we all know, a lot of good that did.

I also caught up on a few more 18-year-old privileges in the past few months, but those have to be left unmentioned and up to your imagination. You could just ask me, but you have to promise not to tell; my mom reads this paper, and it would not be a happy day in my house if she read about those activities.

Every family is different, so privileges and responsibilities are dealt with in different ways.

Not only are families different, but all future 18 year-olds are different, too. That means, where one person will go out and do everything (like me!), the next person might think that nothing has changed (for whatever silly reason that is).

Whether you are 11 going on 18, or already 18, I suggest that you take advantage of every age and all the time you have. As the saying goes, you are only (insert age here) once, so rise to the occasion and live it up!