In kindergarten, we had an arts and crafts project that was about what you wanted to be when you grew up. For me, all I wanted to be was a teenager. This was a running joke throughout my entire family because most kids say professions like a firefighter, a teacher or an astronaut. But, no, not me, I simply wanted to just be a teenager.

My siblings are quite older than me and I have always been considered the baby. My brother is six years older than me and my sister is 4 years older than me.

This gap in age was hard because I always felt I was too young to play with them. In my mind as a young child, all I wanted to be was a teenager because of my siblings and how I wanted to be closer in age to them. For some reason, I felt like they were getting to experience things that seemed so far in the future for me. The sad part of it is, is that I wanted to grow up faster and didn't want to be considered the baby anymore. I was jealous of the fact that my brother and sister got to do everything before me and it was always like, "Don't worry Isabella when your older your going to get to do the same things."

Now, I am in the last year of being considered a teenager and all I can ask myself is where did the time go? It's amazing how fast middle school became high school and high school became college. I have almost completed my second year of college and after that I will only have two more years until I am out in the real world. My brother and sister both have steady full-time jobs and they are living in the most amazing city in the world, New York, NY.

Part of me is so excited to join them in the city of opportunities and finally get to experience the same things as them at the same time. But, the other part of me wants to stay young forever and never grow up. I have such fond memories of my childhood and it was my favorite time around Christmas. My brother, sister and I would put on our red, white, and green striped matching pajamas on Christmas Eve and the socks that made our dark brown wooden floor a sliding path race to retrieve Santa's presents on Christmas Day.

My father would have a flip camcorder ready to get our best reactions to opening our presents. My mom would be playing her favorite Christmas music while helping us open our gifts. Hot chocolate would always be a necessity during Christmas time and my sister always loved putting the most whip cream on hers. Looking back on my favorite times spent as a kid, I've realized how at the time all I wanted to be was older but now that I am older, I wish that I lived more at the moment as a child. Those happy times we spent together as a family is times that I will cherish forever.

Growing up, is something that many, including myself, can fear. There is so much we have yet to experience and we still have so much personal growth left in us. Endless opportunities await you and you don't even know it yet! Even though, as a kid, I would have done anything to just be a teenager, I don't really think I understood how simple being a kid really was. I didn't fully grasp until now that being a kid was pretty cool too. The fact of the matter is, is that growing up is inevitable, and that's what life is about. Things that you have experienced in the past shape you for your future. All of those little memories and teachings you hold as a kid, you take with you in the real world.

Reflecting back on your childhood, it makes you appreciate all the little things that made you so incredibly happy. Things and traditions you will use in the future when you get to start a family of your own. More importantly, how much you should appreciate your parents for giving you such a loving childhood and the resources you needed to be where you are today. Although sometimes I'd like to be a kid again, I am so proud of how far I've come and what I have accomplished that I see nothing but a bright future ahead of me.

Also, not many can say they have achieved exactly what they wanted to be when they grew up, but for me, I can confidently say I succeeded at being a teenager.