Not Much Longer

As the last days of summer glimmer in and out of existence, as does the last days of my childhood. Less than two months from now, I will be 18: a legal adult.

Alexa Merrill
Jul 28, 2017 · 2 min read

*SCREAMS*

Adulthood. I’m not ready! And, at the same time, I’m SUPER ready! Ready for the next phase of my life; ready to be able to sign up for apps like Acorn and Fitness Pal; ready to make some money; ready to find out who I really am; ready for college; ready for my mission; ready to be an adult.

BUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS TERRIFY ME TO DEATH. And that’s not everything that adulthood brings either.

So many things are indecisive right now. Where do I go for college? How am I going to get the money? Do I really want to major in Business? What do I want to do with that degree? What do I want in a man? Will a man ever like me like that? How will I know he’s the one? THEN what happens??

Right now I’m focusing on not focusing on the that. You can tell that it’s really going well.

First things first:

Summer. School Preparation, Online Class, Calculus Work, Go Outside.

High School. Senior Year, Student Body President, High Honor Roll, Homework.

Work. Customer Support, Comedy Club, 20+ Hour Week.

Budgeting. Spend Less, Save More.

Mission Prep. Spiritual Preparation, Physical Preparation, Mental and Emotional Preparation.

College. Scholarship Applications, Research, Applications.

Things seem so easy when they’re laid out so neatly. The problem arises when they actually are put into motion; when everything is lapped on top of each other.

Money is an enormous problem for me right now; I’ve always loved spending money but never really loved doing the work to earn it. Now that I’m finally beginning to realize how expensive life after High School really is, I’m truly regretting having not worked harder to save throughout school. Life was easy when parents paid for everything. It’s never too late to start saving, but I definitely regret having not started earlier.

So where do I go from here? I suppose just keep moving forward. As Maya Angelou said:

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Enjoy today while it lasts. Each chapter of your life flies by much faster than you ever anticipate. As I read through the last few paragraphs of my childhood, the sadness of leaving that part of my life is only overshadowed by the excitement of what lies on the next page.

Here’s to tomorrow.

Alexa Merrill

Written by

This is my life to live and I’m going to live it to the fullest.

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