As You Get Older

I'm almost 22-years-old, and as I am going forward in my 20's, I am realizing some pretty harsh truths. Let's make this a bullet point post, shall we?

As you get older:

• You have GOT to moisturize. And wash your face. I've always had great skin, and I could never use face wash because it would make me break out. I just took off my make up every night before bed and that was it. Now, I have to actually have a regiment of taking off my make-up, washing my face, using night cream, and moisturizing before bed. And I moisturize in the morning before I put my makeup on too. Otherwise, I actually get acne. Who the HECK goes through adolescence with barely getting acne, and then gets it when they get into their 20's? How is that FAIR? But seriously, washing your face and moisturizing = a must.
• Plus, when I'm 60, I'll look like I'm 30.
• You cannot eat a cheeseburger and feel well afterwards. You will feel slightly queasy, most likely fairly bloated, and you will avoid the scale for a good solid week. You will hate yourself and swear that you will never touch a cheeseburger again. And then when an informercial for P90X comes on, you'll grab that cheeseburger and chocolate shake and cry to yourself.
• You become less tolerant of ignorant sons-of-bitches. And of dramatic girls. In high school, and probably early college, you tolerated these people because you had to get through school without being that creepy kid that talks to no one, and people are only nice to you because they're hoping you spare their lives when you inevitably blow up the school. You have to be liked, no matter what. But once you start getting older, the tolerance level and the desire to be liked by everyone blows up in your face. You cannot stand people who do nothing but talk about everyone else and their problems, and you cannot stand people who refuse to be educated and/or knowledgable of the world and the people in it. 
• This can cost you a lot of friendships. But honestly, that friend is the person you sit there and mock the entire time, right? So it's not really a deep, meaningful relationship, is it? 
• You look back on your childhood cartoons/tv shows/movies with a deep profound respect and appreciation, because now it seems like all there is - is crap. But really, some of the stuff you watched as a kid is crap too, but it's YOUR crap, and that's all that matters. 
• You don't rewatch a lot of it because you don't want to ruin the amazingness that is preserved in your memory. Because rewatching it can damage it, once you realize how terrible it is. Like Bambi. That movie sucks. But it's sitting on my shelf, and emits this Disney-tinted glow and a tiny whisper that says, "I am your childhood. Adore me. In secret." (But I don't. Bambi sucks.)
• Of course, there are exceptions to this. Rewatch the classics that will never suck. Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Aladdin...etc.)
• Your dreams have conditions, whether you like it or not. Unless you have a nice trust fund in your back pocket, you might not achieve your dream right away. It will take a lot of work. And coming out of the generation of entitlement, this will be difficult. 
• It will also be difficult when you hear that you are not capable of achieving your dream. Or it is impossible. Or you will not make it. While we come from the generation of entitlement, we also come from the generation that does not take "no" for an answer. We are dreamers. We make things happen. As you get older, you will realize that not everything will be laid down for you on any type of serving platter. You will have to work hard at it, and probably start out doing some stuff you don't want to do. But if it is still something you want as you grow, it is worth the chase and skinned knees, bruises, etc it will take to get there.
• Your parents are a lot more than just your parents. They are people, actually. They were just like you when they were your age. Now that you aren't slamming your door after hearing that you are grounded for a month for taking the car without asking, you will finally be able to listen to what they have to say. You might not always agree with it, but you might be able to actually understand it and appreciate it. You will see them as two people who had parents too, who grew up, fell in love, got married, got jobs that may or may not have been their dreams, had children, and wanted to instill their ideas, foundations, hopes, beliefs, into people they love. Now that you are growing older, they still live on whether you are still bunkered down in their garage or not. They still have ideas, foundations, hopes, beliefs to work on in their own lives.
• Metabolism will break up with you. This also deals with the cheeseburger thing I talked about earlier, but seriously, metabolism will dump you and dump you hard. It will be absolutely heartbreaking. It will take you awhile to get over metabolism, find a gym and move on. Some people never move on. But for the love of your body and the cute clothes that are just waiting for you, please, move on.

There are probably a lot more I could list, but these are the main ones that have been on my mind. I'll be 22 in less than two months, and I feel like I was just sixteen a few days ago. It's crazy how much your life can change in just a few years time. And 22 isn't that old at all. In fact, it's still really young. But to quote the good old Ferris, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."

Amen, Matthew Broderick. Amen.