Turning 20...
Hello friends, this is an Opinions article that I recently wrote for the Eagle Eye, the oncampus newspaper and I thought it really reflected my thoughts on this milestone in age...
As I watched the clock turn to midnight last Wednesday morning and the calendar switch to September 10, I felt a bit depressed. This is because, you see last Wednesday marked the twentith year of my existence of this earth.
Though I knew that this day would eventually come, and in the weeks leading up to this day I wondered what my reaction would be as I turned the “Big 2-0”, I can not sincerely say that I was prepared for the shock that cameover me as the realization of actually turning twenty hit me.
It’s not that I feel old or that I somehow think that my life is ruined or over because I am no longer a teenager, I just want to know where the time went. Where did the time go that I so irresponsibly wasted on friends, family, school and on occasion, fun?
Now, it’s not that I actually feel that these things were a waste by any means. It’s just that looking back; I don’t feel that I really accomplished anything. The only things that I have really accomplished in these short twenty years are graduating from High School and being accepted to LHU.
Some might say that I am still young and have plenty of time to do something meaningful in my life, but as we all know too well, tomorrow is not always a guarantee. And yes, I know that turning 20 is not the same as getting ready to retire after a full career, but an average life expectancy is somewhere around 70 or 80, so I have some what successfully completed about a quarter of my life.
As I thought about completing one-fourth of my life, I had to stop and say, “Wow”. My life had always seemed so young, even a half a year ago, I felt as if I was still the scrawny, little kid who could do anything with the world as a big-time eighth grader.
Now, I’m a 20 year old sophmore with more experiences to better understand this world and, I would hope, knowledge so that I can become a better piece of this world. I fully expect that one day I will look back and see that these times were not fast, but just the right speed.
So as I look back at these twenty years, I realize that life is too short to worry about things that you cannot control. Time will pass at the same rate as it always does, but it takes such a milestone as being two decades old to make you appreciate the time that you wish away.
I can remember times when I am sitting in class just wishing that it was an hour later or it was two days from that point. Now, as I sit in class, I still don’t want to be in class, but I never wish away that time. I just appreciate it and go with the flow.
So, what have I learned in the past twenty year? I have learned that I know nothing, but I’m willing to do better and learn all that I can. As I see it, everyday and experience is an opportunity, an opportunity to do better then before and to make a better future.