Will I feel like I’m a teenage girl forever?

I am 21. This feels crazy to write because at this very moment I still feel like I’m 15. When I was 15, a lot of exciting things happened in my life. I met my best friends, Katie and Liv, who I consider more like sisters than friends. I was playing a sport that I loved. I was obsessing over celebrities that I thought I would love forever. I had my whole life ahead of me, and don’t get me wrong, I definitely still have lots of life to live, and that absolutely excites me. But time moves quickly, and I’m certainly not a kid anymore which is something to reflect on. For this column, I want to answer the question I’ve been asking myself recently: “Will I feel like I’m a teenage girl forever?”

What sparked my idea for this column was a TikTok I came across a few days ago. In the video posted by user @maris_mbi, she explains “My 20+ girls it’s okay to still dress like you did 2 years ago. It’s okay to still have those posters in your room, it’s okay to still want your walls pink… Society wants us to drop all the interests we have as teens and just become these new people because we’re in our 20s.” Instead of continuing to scroll mindlessly, I stopped for a second and thought about this. At first, I thought to myself that I still have the same interests I had as a teen. I still love anime, writing, reading, and a handful of other hobbies I enjoy. But, another part of me thought about all those celebrities I loved and cherished as a young teen. I thought about the posters I reluctantly took down when I graduated high school because I felt like I was obligated too. I thought about hanging out with Katie and Liv after school and going to get Applebees on Friday nights. I thought about practicing softball with my teammates. I ultimately came to the conclusion that maybe I missed the feeling of being in that stage of my life. If Taylor Swift writes a whole song dedicated to being 15, it has to mean something. 

I decided to ask my mom and my grandma if they still feel like teenagers as well. My mom said, “Sometimes I can’t believe how old I really am when it feels like just yesterday I was a teenager graduating high school.” My grandma said, “The answer to your question is no. I don’t feel like a teenager as I get older. Although I have fond memories of my teenage years, I try to embrace each stage of my life. They are all a gift that I treasure.” My mom and grandma are very wise women, and their answers are helping me form my own answer. 

After doing some thinking, I go back to the idea that maybe I miss the feeling of being 15, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the same things I did when I was a teenager while welcoming new stages of my life. I think that’s the best answer I’ve got for my question. Will I feel like a teenage girl forever? If I stay true to myself and stay in the moment, I will grow with each stage and fondly look back on the memories. I remind myself that there is no pressure to change the person I am, just because I’m growing. I can still hang posters in my room, I can still play the sport I love, and I can still obsess over celebrities. Life moves quickly, but there is no rush to change. If Katie and Liv are reading this, let’s go get Applebees this Friday night. 

Girl Talk is an Opinion column written by a current female student to discuss issues surrounding women, whether it be feminism, current events, personal experiences at Stevens or in life, and more.