My Final Hours

In about  two hours I will no longer be a teenager. On October 28 I will officially be 20 years old. I have been eagerly awaiting this day for quite some time now. Today I thought about these last 20 years and that this is my last day as a  teenager. So much has happened and part of me wonders if I am actually going to be turning 20 tomorrow. Unfortunately, there is not much I can do to change my birthday but personally I am happy to be turning the age I am. I finally feel like my age has caught up with me. My age has said teen but I don't really feel like a typical teenager anymore. I feel like I have grown out of a lot of the "teenager qualities" that most parents dread. I feel like I have become a different person and am on the right road of where I want to go with my life. 

I have had several mixed feelings from others about how I should feel about my 20th birthday. Mainly they have been, "well good luck, you're life just got harder." Thanks guys, that's a real boost of motivation. I have wonderful memories of these last 20 years. I have made wonderful friends, learned a lot of lessons, and have a lot of lasting memories I believe but I can't wait to see what the next 20 will bring. Mostly likely it will bring a college degree, a job, a husband, a family, and many more great moments. (I know I'm being optimistic) There will be a lot of new challenges and a lot bigger decisions to make but I'm excited for what will come of them. 

Another thing I have really thought about today is my mom and dad. As a teenager I lived to bug them, torment them, and probably caused them a lot of headaches. I thought that all their advice was dumb, that they just didn't get me, and were always out to ruin my life.  What teenager doesn't do those things though right?  But since leaving home, being on my own, and finding a lot more responsibility I have really come to respect my parents and have sought their advice. There is a quote that my dad quoted to me often growing up by Mark Twain that says, "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in seven years." Although I am not 21, I do feel like this quote is more than just a dumb saying that my dad always reminded me of.  Most reading this can all laugh at this quote now because we know that it was not our father that had necessarily learned a whole bunch but it was us, me, who really has grown up. So yes, I now agree with this quote. After several years of my father quoting it to me, I now quote it to him. I have really grown to appreciate both of my parents and love them more. They always made every birthday feel special and made my life pretty easy. I owe a lot to them and much of my success so far in my life is because of them and what they have raised me to be.  So even though it's my birthday and naturally the world should revolve around me, I will be thanking my Heavenly Father for giving me a opportunity to be born into my family. To have the parents that I do, who are my heros and have left a lasting impression on my life that is more than anything else they could have done for me. 

So I'm excited to turn the BIG 20! I want to party and celebrate all that I have accomplished in my life thus far and celebrate my next 20 years because I know they will be great. Hard but GREAT! So although these next few years will bring many new changes to my life I plan on partying tomorrow and being happy that I have survived the teenage years. But not only will I be partying, I believe my parents will be happy too because they have made it through another teenager. Only one more to go mom and dad. Good luck! As for me, I'm ready to take on the next 20 years and make them even more memorable! So.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!! (Tomorrow, in two hours!!!!) WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!! BRING ON THE CAKE!!!!

The End.

Next Post: The Damage I Caused on my 20th Birthday! (Pictures will be included!) haha