Twenty-one is a pretty big number and a pretty crazy year to turn. Back in the day, we thought that your 16th birthday was one for the books. Everyone watched those super sweet 16 shows on MTV where rich kids would get the coolest party with hundreds of their “friends” (aka people they didn’t even talk to) come and then mommy and daddy would buy them a brand new top of the line, million dollar car with a big bow on top. We all soon found out that turning 16 was just hoping to pass your driving test and not being able to drive your friends around for 6 months. Yay freedom at last, not. Eighteen came along, and if the presidential election wasn’t that year then all you could do was make the mistake that I did and buy way too many scratch tickets after school, and it started turning into an addiction. You could ask any of my friends and they would tell you the numerous times I forced them to come to Safeway with me after school to buy them or they would catch me there. Not many things came other than that you could finally say that you’re an adult, though most likely you were still a high school senior living with mom and dad, so that whole adult card didn’t really work.

Then, here it comes, the year we all wait for. The big 21! You can finally take your first sip of alcohol, legally, and if you’re me it will be your first sip ever. But I’m not just talking about what everyone thinks of when they think of turning 21, I’m talking about reality television shows! Whichever show floats your boat, you finally are at the legal age to apply to most of them. If it’s a baking competition, Survivor, or in my case, The Bachelor/The Bachelorette, your dreams can finally come true.

Now America knows, I want to either be the lady receiving the final rose of the season, or the lady handing out the final rose to the man I picked. Every girl wonders as they grew up watching The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, what it would be like to go on fairytale-like dates where a normal one for them is a private concert by their favorite band or a helicopter ride to a private island where a picnic lunch is all set up. Because that reality isn’t real. Not at all. Or apply to go on a cooking competition to win a bunch of money and just be cool grilling up some steaks and whipping together some fancy dessert that you can't even pronounce!

So if you are anything like me you have that one show that you very badly want to go on one time in your life. Even if you don’t get selected at least you tried, and you can go back to sipping on an alcoholic beverage in sadness for putting all that time and effort into your application for nothing. No matter what show you are a big fan of, apply for it! Sometimes the “you only live once” phrase really does come into perspective and there are not many chances you can go onto your favorite television show!

Take away the stereotypes of what you’re supposed to do on your 21^st birthday, like going to the bars and having fun with your friends. Try something new like logging onto your computer earlier in the day and finding all the cool things you can do at 21, like apply for reality television shows!