On Saturday I took the SAT for the first time. For the sake of driving distance, my mom signed me up to take it at a high school in a neighboring town, rather than at the junior college. All I'll say is with my blond hair I stuck out like a sore thumb. It was pretty interesting, however, to listen to the kids around me talk, mixing up Spanish and English words in the same sentence. (And they all understood one another perfectly!) However, I signed something that won't let me talk about the test itself, so let's move on to what I found out when I got home.
My cousin got engaged. Now, that may not seem like an exactly life-changing experience, but you've got to understand a few things. She's eighteen--less than two years older than me. I mean, we used to dress up and eat play food and write pretend letters to each other. While I know that there's no way I'm getting married that young (without some kind of divine intervention, that is) it really makes me feel old. When did we grow up?
Which brings me to the final event--something that will actually happen this afternoon. I'm going to visit a college. In fact, I'm going to spend the night. It's about two hours away from home and it's Christian, but still...it's college. Maybe I need to check my birth certificate; I can't be that old, can I?
I'm so excited. A whole new world is opening up to me. There are so many possibilities. Yet, at the same time, my whole world is shutting down. Once I leave home, nothing will ever be the same again. I won't have my parents to feed and clothe and chauffeur me. Even if I move back home, my brother will probably have already moved out.
Prayer: So...here it is God. Everything I have known and everything I will know. Help me to trust in You and follow Your leading. You knew exactly what You were doing when You called my mom to homeschool, and You know what You're doing now. Thank you for the things that have happened and are going to happen this week. Thank you that, no matter what, You remain the same. In Jesus' name, amen.
Psalm 20:7 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
When did you first realize that you were almost grown up? What has been a significant turning point in your life?
Gosh, tough question! Congrats to your cousin, by the way. How awesome for her!
ReplyDeleteFeeling "grown up" has hit me at different times in my life.
When I was 14, I thought I was pretty "grown up", I mean only four years of school to go! And my little brother was born that year, so I took on new responsibilities.
Turning 18 was definitely another one of those points. I got my driver's license that year, and I started commuting to college. Not to mention, I had a part time job. That's pretty deep in the "real world" for someone who still lives at home.
Turning 20? Wow! Officially no longer a teenager! That was the first time I ever joked around with friends about being "old".
At 21, I've seen a couple friends get married, and there's nothing like seeing your "set" getting married off to make you feel old (and a bit of an old maid). As college graduation looms (complete with a 49% under/unemployment rate for college grads,)I'm feeling old.
What really makes me feel "ancient", though (other than my little brother telling me so, and asking about "back in the '90's") is the realization that I lived through things that this up and coming younger generation totally missed, or were to young to remember. Big things, like the Y2K scares (I lived in a different millennium! I'm OLD!!), like Columbine, like 9/11. Little things, like Shari Lewis and Lambchop, or the old Barney, or Beanie Babies. The realization that if '80s fashions are coming back . . . that means the '90's ones will too! Stirrup pants again! (You're probably to young to remember them.) That makes me slightly happy.
So I guess all I can say is, if you feel old at 16, wait until 21!
Wow! Thanks, Lauren! Guess I should stop complaining now! :) It's strange to think about the different generations and the things they experience. I bet my little sister doesn't even know what a Beanie Baby is!
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