"A waste of an 18 year old"

We all have these expectations of what life is supposed to be like. We watch movies, read books and listen to songs that paint a picture of the perfect life, yet when it comes down to it, life fails to live up to these expectations.

I remember when I was younger, how I longed to grow up. I look back now and I see how the expectation of growing up served to be better than the actual act of growing up.

I turned 18 years old in February and I’m often described as a waste of an 18 year old because I find no interest in doing the things that your normal 18 year old would find interest in doing. 

I have no interest in drinking to have a good time.
I have no interest in taking a shot to give me the confidence I need to approach a guy.
I have no interest in having a phenomenal time only to forget it the next day,
and most importantly I have no interest in loosening up so much that I lose control of my actions. 

It annoys me that people feel the need to call me a waste of an 18 year old because I don’t see the delight in doing certain things. I’m probably going to get judged for this and be labelled boring but I can admit that I have no urge whatsoever to go to a club. On New Year’s 2012 I experienced my first clubbing experience and it was horrible. I didn’t enjoy it like most of my friends did; I actually found it a strenuous effort just being there.

Often when people turn 18 they feel the need to experience everything that they were denied for 18 years, all at once.  There’s a certain freedom that comes with being 18, but just because we’re given this freedom does that mean that we have to abuse it?

 When I think back on the times that I’ve been around people who have fallen prey to alcohol, I remember only the bad things: how they humiliate themselves and do things that they would never consider doing if they were sober, how they embarrass themselves by saying things that are highly inappropriate and how they fail to keep their insides inside once they have had too much to drink.

I have no interest in this.

Life as a teenager is not easy. We are expected to excel in school in an attempt to build a future for ourselves, we are expected to withstand the evils of the world even though they appear to be incredibly appealing, we are expected to keep our head up even though all we want to do is break down, we are expected to “hang in there” because these times will pass. So much is expected while such a little is given in return. I understand and don't blame our generation for falling prey to these worldly things.

 However, I don't understand how people that delight in these worldly things feel like they have the right to judge me and label me boring without understanding my reasoning for not being like them. Has our world changed so dramatically that it has become wrong or abnormal for a teenager to say no to the things that most teenagers fall prey to?

So the next time you feel the need to judge me based on my actions and my choices, based on the things that I choose to do –or not to do- remember that everyone has their reasoning for doing certain things, even though you may not always agree with it or accept it. No one has the right to tell you what to do with your life because it’s just that, it’s YOUR life, so live life how you want to, and let others live it how they want to.