T-minus 6 days until my time is finally here. I turn the infamous 18 and finally step into adulthood. However, as these weeks countdown, I can’t help but realize how hard my life has been as a 17-year-old. No one understands how annoying it really is to be seventeen, unless they are seventeen of course. You’re so close to being a legal adult, but you still are being treated like a child. Ugh. So here are struggles that I and all other 17-year-olds have to go through before they get to taste absolute freedom.

1. Being interested in politics, but not being able to vote in the most recent election.
2. Having to reiterate that you’re almost 18, to keep people from referring to you as a baby.
3. Realizing you have to be 18 to do anything remotely exciting or fun.
4. Still not being able to get a tattoo or piercing without parental consent.
5. Having a later curfew, but not late enough to have any real fun.
6. Dreading what happens after you turn 18 and high school is over.
7. Imagining what it’s like to have your own money, car, apartment, etc.
8. Being so close to adulthood, but still living in your parent’s house.
9. The desire to be viewed as a grown-up by your parents, but also wanting them to support and fund your 17-year-old lifestyle.
10. Having to rely on your parents to purchase items that are illegal for you to get your hands on alone, like fireworks and medication.

The list can go on and on about all the irritating problems of being seventeen, but we can’t pretend that there aren’t some positives.

1. Savoring the last year of childhood without the complications of taxes, dating, and car insurance.

2. Discovering who you are, and who you want to be.

3. You’re the dancing queen (or king)

No matter how long the negative list is, there is no denying that seventeen was a great year for me. So here is my farewell. Next stop: Adulthood.