Growing Up

Courtesy of my Mom 

Growing up. It's inevitable, it happens to all of us. In the dictionary growing up is defined as to grow toward or arrive at full stature of physical or mental maturity. Yes, this is what it means when you look up the definition but it isn't what it truly means. When you grow up there are so many factors that add into it and make it more complex. Heartache, pain, happiness and enjoyment are all part of what growing up means. So many things happen such as mistakes and good things which both make memories that will last a lifetime. In the end though, growing up is hard.

There are so many things that we have to go through in order to find ourselves and know who we really are and what we want in life. Before we can reach that point (if we ever do) we have to face the realities and struggles of life. The first big struggle (at least last quarter of ninth grade) is school. Learning the material, doing what needs to be done, getting it turned in, then eventually receiving a grade. It may seem easy and a simple pattern to follow but the harsh reality is that school is hard. The stress levels are insane. No matter your IQ or GPA it is difficult.

Not only are we faced with having to go to school but our daily lives outside of school. Although some may seem like they are perfect, no one is. We all have issues and pain that we have to endure. Everyones problems are different but we all have them. From personal experience the hard part is not having the problem but how it effects you and how you handle the situation. There are so many difficult situations that we have to go through that cause so much heartache. Even though we feel like we won't make it and we want to run away we keep pushing and survive. Part of growing up is happiness and we wouldn't know what happiness is without the pain.

Courtesy of my Mom, again 

School and our lives outside of school aren't the only things that happen in life. We learn so many things from being teenagers. Everyone is trying new things, making memories and taking in the best of what life has to offer. We all just have a different point of view and see the world from different angles. I don't mean this as in the world is all rainbows and smiles and I am not saying it isn't either. The good and bad balance each other out it just takes time to go through each of those stages.

Of course these aren't the only things that add to the definition of growing up. I just think that there is no right way to define or explain what growing up is. Thus being that you can't prepare and plan for it, it is one of the things that we have no control over.