Growing up we were lied to by media, older acquaintances and family. They forgot to mention that being an adult was a trap. Rated R movies, driving a car and being able to stay up past 9 o’clock looked great.

Growing up I couldn’t wait to be an adult; however, after recently turning 21 I can concur that there are no more birthdays to look forward to and it’s all-downhill from here. No more celebrating birthdays with a smile on my face, only the “you’re how old?” birthday cards.

Growing up is a trap: taxes, bills, doubles shifts, final exams and planning out what to do after graduation is never fun. We look forward to growing up, but the reality is we should all have taken our time. To the freshmen out there, hold on to the teen years. Once you hit your twenties parents stop buying you birthday present and expect you to not act like a child anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, being able to buy alcohol and go anywhere I want, whenever I want (with no question asked) is great. However, having to wake up at 5 a.m. to provide for myself takes away from the magic of staying out the night before.

When you grow up society says you can’t like Mario Kart anymore or watch cartoons. Being an adult looks a lot better on the outside than it is. When you are considered an adult, people assume you have your stuff together. However, we just learn how to present ourselves as functional, because the truth is adults everywhere don’t know what they are doing.

Being 21 I am expected to know how to cook and to know how not to burn my pizza rolls. Growing up doesn’t mean that the rest of your life is serious business, but it does mean you have to be responsible and have a 401K.

Having seven siblings, and being the oldest, I put my childhood on the back burner. I believed acting like an adult and playing second mom was great. However, I was completely and totally wrong; I should of acted my age and maybe even younger.

The point is stay as innocent and bill-free as long as possible. Moving out from under the parent’s roof once starting college may sound like a great idea. But you have the rest of your life to wake up on Saturday mornings to pay bills and burn your pancakes.

After growing into an adult your permanent name-tag says, “Hello my name is stressed.” One of the only certainties in life is growing old, however, we shouldn’t rush into it. So public service announcement for those who are looking up to their older siblings; it’s not as great as it looks.

Put down the makeup, underage alcohol and sexts. Those who haven’t entered the adult stage yet; stay little for as long as you can because, “Who is FICA and why are they taking all my money?”

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