An Open Letter To My 20 Year Old Self

As 2015 is ending, and my first semester of sophomore year is coming to an end, so are my teenage years. I thought turning 18 was a big deal, and I’m sure that is true with most people. The only difference of turning 18 in my household, since I am part Hispanic, there is a funny life motto between my friends and I: “Turning 18 in a Hispanic household means shit.” Just because the country sees us as a legal adult doesn’t mean we are at home. So I didn’t get to truly be the independent person that was so eagerly waiting to come out until I travelled to the other side of the country to go to school.

My first year was more like a dream out of a movie, the typical college experience without all the partying. I met so many friends, went out to the city on adventures almost every weekend and didn’t have so much pressure in my classes. In a way I felt like college was way easier from taking 3 AP classes my senior year. I grew a lot, but it wasn’t until my sophomore year that real life hit. I am 19 in New York, went through some tough times, realized who my real friends were, had harder classes such as Economics, and realized I needed to build up my resume. So I got an interview with Cosmopolitan, became editor in chief of Habitat for Humanity’s writing committee, joined more online publications, all while trying to deal with the real world and personal problems.

With a new group of friends, more responsibilities, and still trying to stay sane, my 20-year-old self has a full year in 2016 to make some big decisions. I know 18 is the time to become an adult and it was, and 19 was my year of fun, now 20 is time to get serious and make the best decisions that can help me a lot in the long run.

I feel that when I turn 20, there is a little part of me that is saying goodbye to my childhood for good (doesn’t mean I won’t stop being a child at heart). But this whole new world is open, and I’m scared and excited to see what it is. In my first year as being a 20 year old, I have the decision to become a fashion intern at Cosmopolitan magazine, while holding two head positions for clubs I am involved with on campus, or I can travel the world and learn new things. Then as the years go by, college will be over as we know it and it’s up to the decisions we make now in our lives that will hold our future. Once we are 20, we are no longer a teen; we are welcomed to this new world full of graduations from colleges, real career jobs, and then later down the road marriage and kids.  Like I said: we realize who our real friends are, who we want to spend the rest of our lives with, and what the heck we want to do for the rest of our lives. On top of that, trying and doing new things with the people we love whom we can share and laugh or cry about in the far future.

For those who just turned 20 or are about to, I am not saying this is the end of the world. It is the time to choose wisely because you never know what will happen. Make sure this is truly what you want before regretting or wishing you could turn back.