Growing Up: No Such Thing

I grew up squinting toward the thin line between the ocean and the sky. I grew up breathing salty, humid air. I grew up running aimlessly and pretending that things were as they weren't. I grew up with weekly trips to McDonalds and the library. I grew up stressing about homework, like no other 5th grader ever did. I grew up dreaming about success. I grew up wanting my family more than my friends.  I grew up to appreciate acquaintances and making awkward conversation. I grew up being told that I lived in a huge melting pot; everybody was the same but different. I grew up in a place where ethnicity and race did not matter, unless it included questions to increase one's general knowledge. I grew up in long car rides that weren't very long. I grew up listening to a broken radio that would change the stations itself. I grew up acting and dancing in home videos. I grew up in a place where winter did not exist and nobody owned more than one jacket. I grew up safe and slow, expecting out of the world what I expected out of myself. I grew up in many ways, but at least I grew up.

But did I really?

I still have flaws and scars that I would love to replace, but can't. I'm not the smartest or the strongest or the prettiest; and sometimes that gets to me. We're all made up of moments, people, places, and possibilities. We're constantly changing. We're constantly growing. Thus, I don't think there is a point we really grow up. We're always growing, whether we like it or not. Age is just a number, but sometimes that number matters. When people turn 21, they consider themselves adults. Yet, they act like ignorant children.

Therefore, I believe that we all feel as if we've grown up sometimes, but we never really do.