Self Realizations As I Turn To Sweet Sixteen

I will be turning sixteen in April!

This fact scares me and excites me at the same time. Sixteen is such a romanticized year in our country that you really can’t help but be excited when your “Sweet Sixteen” comes along.

I grew up in an unconventional family. Unlike other teens who would be finishing their 10th-grade this year, a different path awaits me. I am about to accomplish my first semester of college.

College is a scary thing for a girl who’s been home-schooled her whole life. I have never had to deal with strict deadlines and busy schedules. College also forces me to decide on what my future would be like. After I get my prerequisites, I have to decide whether I want to continue to college, go to a trade school, or just get a job and save money.

As I grow up, I start thinking about the decision I have to make.

I am also becoming a person with own thoughts and opinions which makes it harder and harder for me to live with my parents. We disagree on so many things and I don’t want to be restricted by their rules anymore.

I know that one of the biggest signs of maturity is to learn to voice your personal opinions...

...and maybe show or explain someone why their logic is flawed or to just disagree but follow their wishes anyway.

This is one of the hardest things for me to do. I love a good argument especially if I’m right. It gets me fired up and makes me feel like I can spread my wings. It gives me a euphoric feeling of being right and getting to prove it. The one downside is that it isn’t always the right time or place and having to learn to hold my tongue is the hardest lesson out there. So when I feel one way about a subject and my parents feel another, it is hard for me not to launch into a full-blown argument.

I know that this trait of mine won’t help either my situation or relationship with other people.

Restraint is not something that comes easy and it is an uphill battle every day to not say everything I’m thinking.

I encourage all of you to take a struggle of yours every day. Grab it and wrestle with it, because that’s the only way we become better people.