Forts and Fairytales

Growing up. It’s something we all are faced with during our lifetimes. But I had an interesting thought this morning…what makes a grownup, grownup? Is it them after puberty when all the changes to their bodies are there? Is it them turning 18 and finally being considered “an adult?” Is it them paying taxes after a long year at work, or possibly them falling in love, getting married and beginning an amazing adventure with someone else? What is it?

I am turning 20 this year. Although I have officially been considered an adult for almost two years, I know to many, I am still really young. And to be honest, I feel young. I keep sitting waiting for “adulthood” to envelope me and make me think like an adult. I question when I will speak of myself as a “woman” versus a “girl.” But am I just going to wake up one morning and feel grown up? Of course not.

In my opinion growing up/being an adult is strictly a mindset. Obviously there are grown up things I do. I work, I pay taxes; I am responsible for many areas in my life. But at the same time, I am still the same little girl who plays house with her friends. Who believes in wishing on stars and holding my breath while inside a tunnel. I am the same little girl who climbs trees, falls down and believes in fairytales. I am the girl who got stuck in the washing machine because her twin sister told her to get inside.

I haven’t changed.

I look older, I have more mature thoughts, and I realize growing up is a harsh reality we all have to face. But I think they way we mature, and the acceleration of us “growing up” depends on how we handle it. I am not going to lose my imagination. I am not going to stop building forts, singing into a hairbrush or believing every girl has a prince charming.

Are you?