There are so many circumstances in one's life that would guarantee them a one way trip to adulthood. There are many people in this world who had to grow up fast and leave their childhoods behind. While they were still a kid themselves they had to mature fast and make grown-up decisions about life. These people were introduced to adult life and real-world problems before even understanding some things about that world.

Nothing is wrong with having to grow up fast. You definitely have to mature at an alarming rate because you have to handle certain situations. That just means that you are ahead of your time and are able to comprehend more sophisticated situations as well. You are looked at to handle situations with grace, and with much maturity.

It kind of makes you sad at times. Only because you feel like you did miss out on a childhood. This isn't to say that you had a bad childhood, you were just exposed to adult things during your childhood that made you have to grow up faster. You may feel like you will never be able to be a kid again. Now that you are actually becoming an adult and are actually a real part of this world, you know that you can't go back to being a kid

People will always say that you are very mature for your age. Or that you do not act your age, and that you act a lot older. You smile and say thank you or you say that is just how you were raised. But honestly, you are mature and "grown-up" because of the trauma that you might have gone through. You were forced to grow up.

Having to grow up before your time is not all bad. Many adults trust you, and if you come from a biggish family, you are the child that they trust. You can definitely use that to your advantage. But with great power comes great responsibility, therefore, your actions are looked at very closely and one mistake can be catastrophic only because a lot is expected from you.

Not saying that people who had to grow up fast are stuck up, but they might not want to deal with people their age who are not on the same level as them with maturity. That is not necessarily a bad thing at all, you just might not have time to deal with childish things or childish behaviors. So, you find yourself surrounding yourself with older people that match your energy.

Many people have to deal with things in their life that alter their life. Some children become adults and some get to stay children until the day they leave for college. Nothing is wrong with either, it just means people come from different aspects of life and all have different experiences with life that shape who they are coming into the adult world.