"You've taken your first step into a larger world." -Ben Kenobi, ANH

Today is supposed to be a happy day, but instead, it feels like one of the scariest days of my life. A harmless little Sunday in August isn't scary, you might sneer. But it is scary when it's your 18th birthday.

Yes, today I turn 18 years old. It is an age that is far less glorified than it seems when you're a kid. My younger friends are more excited about my turning 18 than I am! They keep exclaiming, "You can move out of the house!" They don't understand when I tell them I'm not moving just yet. One 13-year-old friend said, "18 is awesome! You can order stuff off the television!" Great. Yeah. Woo-hoo.

To almost every kid, 18 means freedom. But instead of thinking of the freedoms, I find myself thinking of the responsibilities. Moving out of a parent's home is a dream of most kids, but I tend to think not about the freedom, but about paying rent, utilities, and insurance. I think about finding a college and a way to pay for it, getting a career, and a job. And most of all, I think about being an adult.

When you're a kid, everyone expects you to make mistakes. After all, you're a kid. But when you're an adult, everyone expects you to act like an adult. And when adults make mistakes, they can't pass the responsibility off on their parents.

But, in spite of all that scaryness in the future, today is my birthday. The first day of the rest of my life. So, I'll take the opportunity to be a kid for the last time. I'll think of the freedoms of adulthood, even if just for one day. And I will take that first step into a larger world.

May the Force be with you,
-- i12bajedi