I will be honest with all of you, I couldn’t wait to turn 16. I couldn’t wait to turn 18. And my 21st birthday? It couldn’t come fast enough. I wanted to be older.
I wanted to be “wiser,” but I actually knew very little. I didn’t know what the consequences were to my actions. In this article, I will show you all the good, and bad, things about being “of age.” It will open your eyes and you’ll probably be able to relate to most of these. If you don’t now, you will.
Relationships. Those are difficult during this time. Every boyfriend or girlfriend you have seems like “the one.” Oh, but they aren’t. You’ll probably be in your mid-to-upper 20s before you find the person you’ll spend your life with and have a family with. Even if you do find that person when you’re younger, there are many things that will go sour with the relationship. You’ll break up, you’ll get back together. Who really knows how many times this dance will happen. You’ll date someone else, but that person will never, ever make you feel the same way the previous person did. You’ll wonder why and there is no answer for that. It just happens. Relationships come and go and your newly found hormones contribute to the bulk of the predicament in which you’ve recently found yourself.
Friendships. Those come and go, too. Your high school friends will, probably, not be your best friends for the rest of your life. At 18, you graduated high school and you all went to different colleges after that amazing summer together. Am I correct? Yes? I thought so. It happened to me. My high school best friend, Amy, is still one of my best friends, but she’s no longer there for everything. She doesn’t understand the jokes about Longwood or the jokes that my Longwood best friend and I share. Is she still important to me? Of course she is. I was there for her short-lived marriage (see the paragraph above for why the marriage didn’t last at age 20). She will be there for me when I finally say ‘I Do’ to my fiancé in a couple of years.
These are the problems that every person faces as they get older. Now, let’s get to the tougher problems with being “of age.”
Contributing to the delinquency of a minor? That’s major. I turned 18 and was no longer a minor. Several of my friends were. Cigarettes, adult videos, lottery tickets. Ah, those were the good ol’ days. I still remember my 18th birthday. I couldn’t wait to buy that first lottery ticket (and I won 200 dollars, by the way). Then I bought my first pack of cigarettes. Then I bought a pack for one of my friends who was still 17. His father found the pack and told my parents that I bought them. I had never been in as much trouble with my parents as I was then.
Then there’s the ripe old age of 21. You’re an adult now, or so you think. Under the eyes of the law, you’re of age. That’s good, but that’s also very, very bad. Have you ever been arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor? No? Good. I sincerely hope it stays that way. Now, I’m not saying that I’m a saint and have never given alcohol to my 20-year-old friend at a party, but I know the consequences if they get busted and my name gets dragged into the mix. I know the rules and I’ve chosen to break them a time or two, but is that worth getting kicked out of school? Thrown in jail? Fined thousands of dollars? Absolutely not.
The final thing I’m going to talk about is a big one that nobody really wants to talk about. Statutory Rape. The "R" word is horrifying to everyone. According to the Virginia Department of Health’s website, if you are 18 years old and you have sexual intercourse with a partner who is 15, 16 or 17, you can be subjected to up to a year in prison and a $2,500.00 fine. I have news for any of you readers who are dating someone who is under 18: It’s not worth it. Having that on your record is not worth the one night stand. Sexually transmitted diseases aren’t worth it either. You’re all over 18. This could happen to any of you. As I said, being “of age” is not all it’s cracked up to be. You have responsibilities and I promise there are actual consequences to your actions. Being “of age” is great, yes. I’ve had a fabulous time since I turned 18 and 21, but the consequences out there for me if I break the rules are grand, not only with the law, but with my mother. And trust me, if I act a fool and get arrested, my mother will be more terrifying than any police officer or person I meet in jail.
