“Do not grow up too quickly”

By Sophie Murray Staff Writer

As a kid, adults constantly told me “you do not want to grow up too quickly,” and as a kid, I truly did not understand why they felt the need to say this. Although, as I am starting to grow up and experience life through a more mature lens, I have started to comprehend the meaning behind this saying. In my head, teenage me would be thriving as I based that image off of those “perfect” teenage idols you see online and represented in the media. Looking back, I see now how that ideal image in my head is nothing like how it actually is to be a teenager. Wanting to act more mature than I actually was and longing to skip right to my teenage years has now made me want to go back and tell my younger self that there is no rush and to enjoy being young.

To me, growing up and being a teenager only meant being able to wear makeup and drive and have lots of friends, and what I failed to realize was that teenage years consisted of so many challenging responsibilities that would have to be navigated by yourself. While yes, a part of the reason being a teenager sounded so appealing was because of the freedom that comes along with it, I was not aware of the overwhelming responsibilities you have to take on by yourself and learn. The hardest part as you get older and older is that you are expected to deal with these responsibilities by yourself to “prepare” yourself for the real world. Each year as you get older, you receive a lack of guidance which leads to more mistakes which is ultimately a scary thing you have to learn how to resolve by yourself. This leaves me thinking sometimes how if I was still young, I would not have to risk making all these mistakes and having to deal with these responsibilities by myself. Even situations that are super simple like having to go into stores alone, speak up for myself or even make a simple phone call. These responsibilities just make me think how much easier it would be if I did not have to grow up so quickly and do it by myself just to avoid that uncomfortable feeling.

Having to start doing things on your own that you are very accustomed to your parents doing for you is such a big adjustment. For example, learning how to make your own money because your parents stop buying everything for you. This is such a hard adjustment to make as you have to start thinking about making wise choices on how to spend your money and making sure you have a way to make enough money. Having to navigate that path by yourself is tough as there are so many mistakes you can make and will ultimately have to deal with. Was making money and figuring out how to manage it ever a thought or worry in my head as a little kid? Of course not.

Thinking about your future and having to figure out the next big step in your life as college is around the corner. A worry like this never crosses a kid’s mind as the next big step in their education is going to middle school, not going off on your own for the first time. Even some “small” responsibilities that can be so overwhelming as a teenager that I never thought about was how to figure out how to manage my time well. How to balance a life with friends, as well as being able to participate in activities I love, while still managing schoolwork is something that nobody tells you about. Having to make some sacrifices in your social schedule to pick up on school work or because you need to make some extra cash, meaning you have to work more, is such a challenging thing because it is never something you want to force yourself to do but something you ultimately will have to do.

If I could go back to being younger whem I did not have to have so many responsibilities, I would. I would one hundred percent enjoy the freedom I had as a kid which is totally different from teenage freedom as it can honestly be pretty scary. While young kid freedom consists of getting to play and explore and have fun, teenager freedom is having access to social media, driving yourself around, being responsible for your own actions and less parental control. While all are great and can have really positive aspects to them, there are so many more risks that come along with them. There were no consequences that came along with those freedoms as a little kid until now where if you make a mistake with those privileges and freedoms you have, it can really affect you.

Going back to where your worries were not money or work or school and being able to live totally care-free is something I did not realize I had as a kid until I was older. If I had the ability to go back and tell my younger self not to grow up too quickly, I would. While telling kids this does not automatically cause them to understand what you are talking about, it is still something I would want to tell other younger kids as they will soon understand the saying too when they are older. While growingupishardanditisdifficulttoletgoofyourpast freedomandcare-freelifeasakid,everyonehastogrow up, even if they still long to go back to their childhood.