It's 5 months until my 18th birthday today. 5 months until I'm officially an adult in the eyes of the world.
On Facebook, I keep seeing people's birthdays popping up, that some of my closest friends are turning 18, 19 or 20 and it's such an odd feeling because I don't feel that old and my friends don't seem that old and it's quite terrifying if I'm honest. I don't feel ready to become a proper adult. I don't feel ready to get a job, pay for everything myself, live by myself, own a house, get married or do any of the other things that seem to be the norm for adulthood these days. I still get nervous signing my own forms and prescriptions as I don't feel qualified. I feel like I need some sort of experience before I can be responsible for anything and it's a weird sensation where everything feels unreal and like I'm not meant to be at this stage yet, like I have so much more to learn.
But I guess that's the point.
Life IS a leaning experience and once you finish Uni, you have to learn in a completely new way; by experiencing life, not just learning the facts and taking an exam at the end. Life ends up becoming one big exam where you're constantly tested and assessed and you have to adapt to this whole new way of learning and living.
I think that's why Uni seems like such a great and attractive concept to me as you're partially given that freedom you need to experience before you get into the real world properly. It's like the pre-school to life where you learn the basics of independent living which is both exciting and terrifying at the same time.
Jess xx
