What It Really Feels Like to Finally Be 21!!!

This past Saturday, November 30th, I FINALLY turned 21 years old!!! I am officially a legal adult, wow, I’m getting old! To be honest, I have been waiting for this day since high school, I believe, because I’ve heard all these stories of how the real stuff happens when you’re 21, mostly because you get to drink alcohol. But besides that, is 21 really any different from 20? For today’s post, I will be giving my thoughts on what it’s like to be 21 after dreaming about it for so long.

I will admit that when I turned 21 I had different expectations for it, compared to what the end result was. For one, I hoped to get my driver’s license by then and have my own car. Those ones might’ve been a little bit unrealistic, but a girl can dream, right? At least I have my learner’s permit, and everyone goes at different paces when it comes to learning how to drive, so I’ve accepted that now. Besides, even if I did get my license, I wouldn’t get much time on the road because my parents refuse to let me drive to UH. Although their reasons made sense, which was to save money because parking at UH is expensive. It still would’ve been nice to have that opportunity of providing my own transportation to school.

Another expectation I had was that I would get over my childish ways. For example, I tend to get obsessed with bands, TV shows, and artists easily. I end up talking a lot about that particular interest and never stop basically. Last year, I was obsessed with Queen and now I’m obsessed with Def Leppard. I’m hoping my interest in Def Leppard will last though because how often do you hear of a band with a one-armed drummer? So yeah, that still stuck by me. But to be honest, we all can be childish at times, whether it be watching a children’s television program for fun or randomly breaking into song in public, it’s bound to happen sometime. I’m not ashamed to admit that.

I also hoped I would’ve had a better sense of who I am as a person. There are days when I still struggle with wanting to fit in with the crowd and not try to stand out. I would always turn to other people to see how they act so that I could follow in their footsteps. Although it is good to have role models and people to look up to, it shouldn’t be to a point where you make decisions based on what other people are doing. It is still a struggle, figuring out my interests, my personality, and choice in wardrobe. I was even ashamed of wearing Disney and band t-shirts for a while because I thought they made me look immature. I feel like, within the past week though, I’m slowly learning to make my decisions based on what I want and take more risks in life. In a way, I have accomplished some sense of who I am right now, but I am not fully there yet and I still have a long way to go.

I saved the drinking part for last because I was looking forward to this the most out of all my expectations for turning 21. I was looking forward to being able to drink with my cousins and friends, especially on New Year’s Eve. But before my junior year of college started, I decided that I wasn’t going to drink at all. Of course, this decision wasn’t totally random. I made this decision because one of the members of Def Leppard, Steve Clark, had huge alcohol and drug addictions and sadly, he passed away at age 30 years old, due to a combination of alcohol and prescription drugs. I’ve seen interviews of Steve and he was genuinely the nicest guy you’d ever meet and his guitar riffs were out of this world! It is just so sad knowing that he lost his life so soon. I didn’t want to risk going down that same path, so I decided to give up alcohol before I even started.

Do I still feel like I am 20 years old? Yes and no. Yes, because I don’t have enough experience to fully grasp what it is like to be an adult. No, because I feel like I have matured enough to a point where I know what I want in life and that I shouldn’t be tempted by other people’s decisions or beliefs. I have mentioned in a previous post that I am trying not to care about what other people think because part of being an adult is making decisions based on what you feel is right and having confidence in yourself.

While 21 is interesting so far, what I’m really looking forward to now is turning 22, just so that I can sing Taylor Swift’s “22” haha! We shall see what else 21 has in store for me.

For now, take care and see ya real soon!

Lana