My experience of going from childhood to adulthood

When we're growing up I think we believe that we really want to be an adult. We think it will be great. All the freedom, your own money, nobody really telling you what you can and cannot do. The reality is so much different than expected.

I remember being a young child and constantly wishing I could grow up. Constantly wanting to act like well beyond my years. I wanted to get married...I wanted kids, my own house, a good job...now the things I want are some what different. I want most of all to be happy. I think a common misconception nowadays is that you cannot be happy without a relationship. You need someone there for you even if it's just to tell you things will be okay when you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Relationships are amazing but they are difficult at the same time. You have fights, you have your up and down days but that does not mean you love that person or care about them any less. You have to go from it being all about you really to it being about someone else too. Sometimes you have to take a step back from the way you are feeling because the person you are with may be having a bad day too. This does not just apply to relationships but family and friends too. When you are little you have amazing friends. You can fall out one minute and be happily talking five minutes later. When you grow up and become a part of the "big bad world" it is anything but that really. Arguments start over stupid, little things and last months if not a life time. Your parents can no longer fight your battles for you because you need to learn to stand on your own two feet and learn that life is not some sort of fairy tale like Disney displays it but the complete opposite really.

Shit happens, that is the reality of it all. You will make mistakes and have bad judgements. You will look back and wish you had not done something. You will take risks and maybe they will pawn out good but sometimes they will be bad. Relationships are a bit like that really. Sometimes you think they are a good idea to begin with...but as time goes by you begin to realise that maybe that is not the person you were destined to be with. Maybe you realise that person tries to change you too much when the reality is you should never have to change for someone. You deserve the right to be your own person and if someone cannot accept who you are then screw them because they are clearly not worth it. The people who deserve your time of day are the ones who do not judge you even when they think what you are doing is a bad idea. They will be the ones to pick you up and never say "I told you so" when things go wrong. They will be the ones who are there and do not place you behind someone else. That is what true relationships are about.

Sometimes it is scary to feel like you are alone in this world. To feel like you are this massive burden to everyone. The truth is that everyone has problems, everyone has down days, everyone has moments where they need someone even if it is just someone to text and be there for them. Just because you need people more than others need them does not make you a bad person. It does not make you any less of a person. Everyone is different, even if we try and be the same as someone else we will always have something different and that is what makes us unique as people. I will never understand the people who try and be "sheep" to others. Try and follow others to fit in or be accepted. Find people who treat you with respect, who can have a laugh with you, make jokes but it is funny. Never try to be like someone else because the truth is...you are perfect just the way you are and nothing less. You may not think greatly of yourself, in fact you may hate basically everything about you. That however does not mean others think that too. Others see things in you which you never do. They see strength in bad situations even when it feels like everything is falling apart. They never see you as weak even when you break down and cry. They praise you for the good and amazing things you do. They make you happy and smile even if it is just for a little while.

Adulthood is something I am still getting very used to. It is something I am definitely no expert in as I do not have much experience but it is something I am learning to come to terms with. Leaving behind your childhood is something which will never be easy. Sometimes I wish I could just go back to those "care free days" when my mum could kiss everything difficult away and the only bad situation I had to face was failing a homework task, nowadays it is a lot more difficult but in some ways I am glad I have grown up because I have become someone whom I always really hoped I would be. The main thing you need during growing up and progressing from childhood to adulthood is friends and good relationships. The type of people who will be there and never let go no matter how bad things get.