Eventually, the soda turns to alcohol, the bikes and scooters become cars. Kissing turns into much more, your parents are no longer your safety net. Races were only an issue of who could run the fastest, and war was only a game. Relationships didn't lead to heartbreaks, and goodbyes were only temporary.

And all we wanted to do was grow up.

To leave school, move to another place, and get a job doing something we loved. But what we didn't know was that eventually, we'd have to do it all, on our own.

The purpose of growing up was to be independent and make our own choices, but it wasn't as easy as we thought, because with that comes serious decisions and life-altering changes. Once we grow up all we want is some company, someone to help us out, or even take care of us when everything has fallen apart. We fail to live in the moments, we're so far ahead of ourselves we forget where we're at. And while there's nothing wrong with growing up, there's also nothing wrong with being young.

Being young is about figuring out who you are, making mistakes...a lot of them.

Fear is standing in front of your entire class, or not being asked to the dance.

Disappointment is not making the team or failing grades.

And all of that is okay.

Sometimes, unfortunately, growing up is getting your heart broken by your first love, it's smoking things you shouldn't, drinking sooner than you should, upsetting the elderly, and disappointing your parents. It's about feeling like you're the only one who feels the way you do, and not understanding why. Being misunderstood, and rejected.

Which is why we want to grow up, it's why we're ready to be done with it all. It either comes from us wanting our own independence or the rush we feel from others to grow up and mature. But you have to be your own age, and accept where you're at in life, even if it's not where you want to be. I think as a society we look at teenagers, and the teenage culture as an obnoxious group of hooligans that are too young, too immature, and incapable of understanding things that are before their time. When instead we should look at them as a new generation.

A group trying to find themselves, and discover new things just as we all did when we were young.

The biggest thing is while each generation experiences teenagers, not all are the same, 2019's teens may not be the same as they were in the 80's, but that doesn't make them any worse or any better. Despite our complaints, we all think about "the good old days," or for some of us, a few years ago.

When life was far less complicated.

We were young, carefree, safe under our parent's roof.

And all we wanted to do was grow up.