My teenage years have been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. From the day I turned 13 all the way to 19, my teenage years have been full of phases as well as trials and errors. Like most teenagers, I have leaned a lot throughout my time being a teenager and now it's time to say goodbye.

Pretty soon I will be 20 years old, it's still hard for me to believe most days. In light of turning 20 I thought I would mention some of my experiences and the lessons I learned during my teenage years.

When I look back at my teenage years the first thing that comes to mind is conformity. Being a teenage girl meant trying to be like all of the other teenage girls your age, at least that's how it was for me. I remember in middle school when I was about 13 or 14, shopping at specific stores that all of my friends were shopping at so I could have similar clothing. How boring is that? Always trying to be like everyone else got old fairly quickly for me. By the time I got to high school I finally started to embrace more of my own style and not just conform to everyone else's clothing.

Another big aspect of my teenage years was phases. I went from being more of a tom-boy to begging my mom to buy me a Lilly Pulitzer dress a few years later to having more of a street style and loving Urban Outfitters and Pacsun. Not only did my clothing interests change multiple times throughout my journey being a teenager, my interests and friend groups changed as well.

During the beginning of my teenage years, I was really focused on being liked and accepted by people and would go along with whatever my friends were doing. However, as I got older I started to be more confident in myself and wanted to start doing things that made me genuinely happy and wanted to find people with similar interests. This took a while. I went through many friendships to find my true friends that I still have today. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, it can take a awhile for a person to truly grow into themselves and in turn find people like them, so it's okay.

My time being a teenager was definitely a journey. I went through many experiences, both positive and negative to get to where I am today. I really did have to take my experiences and do my best to grow from them. With that all being said, I really am grateful for everything I went through as a teenager. From coming home and crying to my mom, to hanging out with friends after school and on the weekends, to dealing with petty high school drama, I am thankful for it all. I know without those experiences and many others, I would not be the person I am today.

Turning 20 is scary, for me anyway. To me it's a wake up call saying I really am an adult now and no longer a teenager. I still have some mixed emotions about it, but overall I think I will be happy when I turn 20. I have lived through my teenage years and learned so much that can help me into my 20's. For the most part, I don't think I will miss my teenage years that badly. I am now a much better version of myself so why would I want to go back?

Being a teenager is hard and confusing. So many aspects of your life change as you grow into an adult. But I survived and lived to tell the tale, so I guess I am ready to be 20 now.