The Big 18!!!

            Tomorrow is my 18^th birthday. Not only is this birthday a huge milestone, but it opens up a whole new door of opportunities and experiences for me. One, obviously, is the chance to vote in this upcoming election. Now, I’m not really much of a politics junkie, (frankly, they piss me off a lot) but I’m still going to participate because, well, I can. I want to go through the whole voting experience. Unfortunately, not all kids in my grade can vote this year, but it’s pretty cool that I get to.

            Everyone’s seen those info-mercials for products they sell on T.V., right? Like all those fancy cooking appliances, exercise programs and videos, wrinkle/acne regiments. At the end of the commercial they say, “You must 18 or older to call!” Now that I’ll be 18, I can call to order anything I want from those commercials, probably from the very first one I see. It doesn’t matter what they’re selling, how much it is, whatever; I’m going to buy it simply because I can. You might be thinking, ‘Emily, you’re crazy; don’t waste your money on stupid stuff!’ Yeah, I know it’s stupid. That’s partially why I’m going to do it. I’ll find someone to give it to eventually, unless it’s something super awesome.

            I think the most exciting, yet also the most frightening aspect of turning 18 is the fact that I’m an adult now. That means I can do anything I want, (without crossing the line and ending up in the back of a cop car, of course) and I no longer have to ask for permission. I’m more independent. I can go get a tattoo if I want to, or pierce every square inch of my body. Not like I’d ever do that, but, still, I could. I can be out at any hour without having to worry about the cops dragging my underage ass back to my door; that’s never actually happened but since I’ll be 18 it won’t anyway.

            My newly-found independence has its drawbacks though: I can’t rely on my parents to do everything for me. Well, I probably could, but I doubt they’d continue to provide for me 100%, seeing is how I have a job and am a legal adult. Anyways, I’m a little afraid that my mom and dad are suddenly going to kick my ass out the front door tomorrow morning because I’m no longer a child. I don’t think I’m ready to be out on my own yet; I’m pretty thankful that my birthday falls at the beginning of the school year so I still have an excuse to live at home. Even though I’ll be an adult in T-minus-24-hours, I don’t think I’m quite ready to do adult things yet. I’m still a teenager.

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