I turned 16 years old on April 4, and for the first time since I was four years old, I stopped wishing to be older. Every child wishes to be older at some point in their life. It’s an inevitable part of being a kid and growing up. Even at four years old, the little girl inside of me could not wait to grow up and go to kindergarten because that meant she did not have to take a nap. I remember when I would play on the playground with the fourth graders, and then suddenly little third-grade me wanted to be a fourth grader. Then I wished to be a sixth grader and go to the middle school where I would finally `belong” and get to ride the bus with all my new friends. Then the bus became embarrassing as the entitled eighth grader with a persistent attitude dreaded the bus rides to school and walks home every day. Oh to be 13 again. Then came high school and the first time I drove to school, the adrenaline and excitement. Finally feeling bits and pieces of freedom, but after time it became just a normal part of my day. 

When turning 16, I realized that I only have two more birthdays left where I will wake up in my childhood home and see the whole kitchen decorated for my big day. Only two more birthdays where my mom will wake me up and give me a big hug and scream “Happy Birthday” to me and after that, I will settle for a phone call or a text saying “Happy Birthday” from her instead. Next year, I will be starting my junior year of high school, and the new freshmen coming in are going to meet me and recognize me as an “upperclassman.” I remember being a freshman who was in awe of the older kids and wanted to be just like them, and now soon I am going to be the so-called “older kid” that the underclassmen hopefully look up to. 

When I was eight, I wanted to be 16 so bad, and now that I am finally here, I wish I would have stopped wishing to be older. Time flies by and it’s evident in your high school years. One minute you are five years old smiling before your first day of real school, and then next you are graduating and moving out to start your own life.