Naive until 16
From the moment I was born I have felt older
than the rest of my friends.
Whether it be in age, school, or my way of thinking.
I have always known what I wanted to be
when I grew up ever since career day in kindergarten.
I have always thought before speaking and most definitely never acted before I carefully
execute every little detail in my brain.
I have always had my mind on the future,
thinking of everything I could do to prepare.
While my friends' thoughts were on boys, school gossip and celebrities.
So if I was already so grown-up in my childhood, how did I know that I had finally hit adulthood?
I think it was the moment I hit 16 years old.
At 16, I got my first summer job.
Goodbye sleeping in and hello early mornings.
Goodbye to spontaneous nights out with friends and hello to late nights at work.
At 16, I was now expected to pay for things with my own money and not rely on my parents.
I was now learning about not only money management, but time management.
Figuring out how to still have a social life, but not give up on my responsibilities at work.
At 16, I enrolled in a trade school to finally launch my path leading me to my future career.
Here, I became a leader, no longer following my friends around like a lost puppy.
See I thought that I was so grown-up, more than most of my friends.
But it didn't hit me until I turned 16 how naive I was. I thought that being an adult
was going to be so easy since I had everything planned out.
What I didn't know was that life has different plans.
At 16, I was also rewarded with freedom.
The ability to go wherever I liked.
I now had my driver's license.
With this new found freedom and paychecks
came temptations.
I could now buy whatever I wanted, but what I didn't know was how expensive everything was.
Up until I was 16 years old,
my parents paid for everything.
From the moment I was born, I felt older.
Whether it be in age, school, or my way of thinking.
But it wasn't until I turned 16 that I truly understood what it meant to be an adult.
The responsibilities, temptations, and of course the freedom that comes with it.