1. "Adulthood" does not correlate with an age

I've met children who are 26 and I've met adults who are 16. I realized quickly that age is all relative and you don't blow out the candles on your 18th birthday cake and suddenly put on a matching suit or pencil skirt with accessorized handbag.

2. You become more of your parents than you would like to admit

Living on my own I realize I do all the little tics that once drove me mad about my mother. I sound like her more and more with each day and at some point, you begin to find comfort in the irony of it all.

3. Not everyone will break into "Adulthood" with you at the same time

This might have been the most infuriating part for me, while I was forced to grow up faster than many around me I found that they were not called to do the same. Between bouts of anger and bitterness and frustration, I began to accept the notion that everyone does life at their own pace that is best for them.

4. You're going to miss out on some things

Being mature and vigilant at a young age comes with its perks and downfalls. You spend less time playing at the park after school and more time watching your siblings and making sure the house doesn't fall down around you while mom catches up on sleep after her night shift.

5. Trying to balance it out can really be fuzzy

Trying to figure out how you fit into your siblings' lives is anything but easy. Sister-part-friend-part-mom-part-fun-sucker definitely throws a wrench into the traditional sense of sibling rivalries

6. You're going to cherish the memories more

Fishing with dad while you taught you how to cast a line, going with mom to the Hall in town and hanging out in the garage with the dormant ambulance and fire trucks while she did her E.M.T. training...I can still smell the stinky fish and still air in the back of the ambulance. You take what you can get and bury them in the back of your mind and heart forever.

7. You're going to want to do something different with your life

Good luck figuring this part out, though, I'm still shifty as ever in my career plans and I graduate soon. You will just know that you don't want a 9-5 job behind a desk for the rest of your years.

8. At one point, you're going to realize you wouldn't trade it for the world

At 8 I was confused, at 16 I was bitter, and now at 21 I am content more times than not. At some point you will be able to look back, take the good with the bad, and realize that though life may have bucked you off at an earlier age than most, that it made you into the person you are now and all you can do is learn from the past and look forward to the future and love the present.

* This one goes out to you mom. You helped mold me into the woman I am today even when life was throwing all it could at me. You shouldered so much for me and held me when the dark became too stifling. I love and miss you each and every day and I know you are looking down on me. Just know I'm looking right back up at you mom. You will never leave my heart.