Let's Talk: Enjoy it while you can

Growing up on the internet lead me to having all types of friends, most of them being many years older than me. Every now and then they'd try and give me a bit of elderly advice telling me to "enjoy it while you can." For years I didn't fully comprehend what the saying meant. I wrote two different essays on the subject in high school thinking I had interpreted the meaning. Now five or ten years later from my initial hearing of the phrase, I learned I hadn't enjoyed "it" in the slightest. I didn't quite know what "it" was until I had lost "it."

My interpretation of "it" all these years later is freedom and a lack of responsibility. Freedom when you are older means the freedom to choose. Freedom when you are younger means a lack of major responsibilities. Imagine turning in your teen freedom card for an adult version the day you graduate high school. The young version of freedom is being allowed to turn in your homework a bit later. Or watching cartoons and playing videos games all weekend. You'll still have the possibility to stretch deadlines and take days for yourself as you get older, but they are few and far between. In addition to taking care of yourself, taking care of your list of responsibilities becomes a chore in itself.

I had said in the intro paragraph this isn't the first time I've approached the subject of "enjoying it while you can." I wrote two separate essays on the subject for an English class in high school. One came at the age of sixteen while starting to feel as if I knew everything. The second essay came around the age of eighteen when I was absolutely sure I knew everything. Several years later I have the pleasure of realizing I didn't know a single thing. I had failed to come to this realazation for years and all the time spent chasing maturity left me not giving myself time to be immature.  My freedom now involves controlling my schedule to a certain level, which is wonderful until it isn't, because I have to do it, it's not a choice. I had casually been warned about life hitting me fast, but not quite to the level I expected. I thought myself to be mature but I carried an incredible lack of responsibility. Since my realization I've been trying to recollect myself and get back on track for the past few years. 

I'd like to enforce the idea of enjoying "it" because my words might keep you from making the same mistake I had. The point of being young is to make a million and one mistakes, learning from them in the process. I'm still considerably young, but there is a handful of things I can't do anymore. I forgot how invaluable my younger years were. Instead of following in my footsteps, learn to spend time on yourself and spend time making mistakes. Eat a bunch of terrible foods and try new things. Life hits you faster than you are usually prepared for. Eventually you'll mess up terribly and need the support of those around you to pick you back up, a trait hopefully discovered in your teens. 

Which leads me to sharing a quick secret you'll begin to understand the older you get. Most adults have no idea what they are doing 80% of the time. The only reason they are able to progress forward is because of the questions they've learned to ask and the failures they've embraced. Make your mistakes now as they are a helluva lot easier to cover for when you are younger.