I often find myself in new situations, hearing new words or phrases, and constantly asking my friends what a party is. This is all due to one reason; I was a sheltered child. When everybody had graduated to watching "Hannah Montana" I was still watching "Dragon Tales." When everybody was listening to Backstreet Boys and Nsync, I was listening to "Disney Mania Volume 2." My parents took extra precautions in order to preserve my innocence, so I was never exposed to some of the things that kids my age knew all about. Consequently, I have had a few experiences in my lifetime in which my lack of education on certain mature subjects has shown.

1. When someone makes a joke you don't get and everybody laughs

So you’re sitting in class and you hear a soft “that's what she said” followed by an outburst of laughter from the adolescent, hormone infested boys. Haha, yeah that girl said it..? And that's funny why..? What’s the joke..?

2. Playing "Cards Against Humanity"

You pick up those glossy white cards and read the phrases, which include a whole mess of words you’ve never heard of. You panic. You try and maintain your calm, cool, and collected composure. Alas, it’s like you’re a first grader in a calculus class. You don’t know what’s going on. You don’t know what to do. Help.

3.Your friend when you ask "what is that?"

You’re in the public restroom and you see some quality artwork drawn on the stall door by a kind and caring individual who just wants to make the bathroom a more beautiful place. It’s got two circles and a pointed cylindrical shape. You step out of the stall and tell your friend about the strange discovery you’ve just made. They look at you, roll their eyes, and (hopefully) continue washing their hands.

4. And then they tell you what "that" is

And you are absolutely horrified that any human being would want to draw that anywhere and everywhere. And believe me, when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere.

5. When you turn 17 and your parents FINALLY let you see an R-rated movie

The excitement is real. Forget your eighteenth and twenty-first birthdays, you can finally see a movie that has more than one cuss word in it. Heck yeah!

6. When you go to your first party

Your thoughts: “Kissing. Alcohol. Loud music. So many people. What is that large tin thing with straws coming out of it in the corner? Can I get a disease just from being here? The police are going to come and arrest us there is no doubt in my mind about that. Am I too old to use the ‘my mom needs me to come home’ excuse?” Am I right?

7. When you say your first "bad" word

The words “what have I done” run through your mind. You feel defiant, rebellious. You are tainted by the new words in your vocabulary. But then you think, wow. Did that combination of sounds feel nice to say or what? What an excellent expression of frustration. The rush!

8. The first time you smell the marijuana

You’re walking down the street when you pass an old car parked on the side of the road. You take a whiff and smell something rather strange. Skunk? Absolutely not. Skunk isn’t that potent. Nevertheless, you turn to your group of friends and yell so that all of the people passing by are sure to hear, “hey, do you guys smell that skunk? It smells like skunk doesn’t it? It does.” They all look at you like you’re some alien and blush from the embarrassment of being associated with the likes of you. Fortunately, one of your friends is kind enough to whisper to you “hey, that’s weed you’re smelling.” Your face turns a bright crimson.

9. But it's okay because you got to be a kid longer than everybody else

You got to be a princess or super hero longer than the other kids. You believed that the world was good and that you were going to Hogwarts someday for an ounce more of time. Ignorance was bliss rang true for you for many days, months, or years. Though it may be embarrassing or awkward whenever you learn a new word or have to ask your friends what in the world is going on during the R-rated movie, but you wouldn’t trade it for the world because you had your childhood for as long as you could.