Well, I am officially an adult. Legally, I am now allowed to vote, drink, smoke, chew tobacco, go to "adult" prisons, get married, and not listen to my parents advice. According to whoever came up with this, I am now wise enough to get along on my own. It doesn't matter what my upbringing has been, what experiences I have been through, or how well I handle the two t's- temper and temptation. I am now old enough to take care of myself. There are only two things that can happen from now on. I can either fail or... I can thrive. No matter what you do in life or whatever others do to you, you will have both of these happen to you in varying degrees, at different times, or sometimes at the same time. You can't escape it.
Thinking about this has me a wee bit scared. I know, I know, every teenager goes through this. The thing is, it has never, as of today, happened to me yet. It will never happen again. That in itself is scary. I will never be able to again use the knowledge and insight that I will (hopefully) gain during this time in application to my own life. If I ever have kids of my own, I will tell them some of the same things that my Dad and Mom have told me. But they will have to figure it out for themselves: it is the only way that they can learn. It will be the same for me.
Goodbye childishness, hello... who knows what!
"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man (or woman in this case!) I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11
P.S. Just so you know, in this case, I would classify "childishness" as imature behaviour, pettiness, and other things like that. I always want to have a child-like wonder, faith, and imagination!
