Quarter life crisis

In a week and a half I'll enter my twenties. Two decades of life. What. The. Hell.

How could age just sneak up on me like this? It's just rude, that's what it is. Unforgivably rude. Becoming 20 won't be like turning 16 for me: I'm not about to pack up my toys and pretend I'm an adult. Being 20 won't award me any new responsibilities.

At 13 I was a teenager for the first time. Yay! At 14 I was officially in charge of buckling my own seat belt and I could have been held for 24 months for a criminal offence (hypothetically speaking, of course).

At 15 I could totally go to the cinema and watch films rated 15. I did this. A lot. I felt so badass (I was deceived; all the films were rubbish). At 16 I could apply for legal aid, choose my own doctor, order my own passport, join the army, play the lottery, get married (with parental consent), leave school (I had already finished school by the time I was 16 so, you know, not really a useful law for a summer babe), drink wine, beer or cider in a pub or restaurant (with a meal - if I was with an adult) and so much more.


At 17 I could get my driver's licence (still haven't done that - but but but I have a provisional!), leave my body for medical study and donate blood. At 18 I could vote in both general and local elections, serve on a jury, make a will, get married (without parental consent), buy fireworks, get a tattoo, buy alcohol, place bets, open my own bank account and-

You probably know all that. At 19 I was no longer entitled to free full time education (boo!) and at 20 the law says I can do...

Nothing. Nada. Nope.

At 21 I can adopt a child, so there's always that to look forward to I guess. Next year. I can use that knowledge to freak my mum out.

Although being 20 doesn't officially mean anything in the eyes of the law, it does say a lot about where I've come from. I've travelled twenty years gathering all the bits of information and experiences that have entwined themselves in my life and produced who I am right now at 11:52am. I'm not a perfect specimen and I probably play too much Sims 3 when I should be writing. But I am a decent, strong and dorky person and one day, I'll be a decent, strong and dorky author.

Here's hoping.