Growing up too fast

I was a lot of trouble when I was younger and always gave my parents grief (kind of like what I currently do). I am too headstrong, want things my way, and can be so obstinate that I won't listen to anyone else (which has caused me to do things no one thought I was capable of, and has caused me a lot of pain, physical and emotional).

When I was 4 (according to my mother), I wanted to be 16. Who knows why the age 16 appealed to me so much. Sixteen was the magic number, the age where I would be grown up and love life. I always tried to act older than I was. I wanted to be older so I could control my own life and be taken seriously. I negotiated a weekly allowance with my dad when I was probably 7 or 8 because I wanted to start saving up for a car (if that seems weird, I was talking about what college I wanted to go to when I was 5).

When I did hit that magical age I had fantasized about, it wasn't that special. Me and my friend had a double birthday, which sort of became a tradition. We went bowling with friends and watched White Noise. My friend was sleeping over at my house and we got back late. My mom happened to be awake and handed me a car key. I started freaking out and me and my friend were jumping up and down yelling because I got a car!! My mom then motioned for me to open the card sitting on the steps it read on the front, "What would be better than getting a car on your birthday?" Inside it read, "Getting a Card, one whole extra letter". I was so confused, did I really get a car? My mom was laughing hysterically. Apparently this was a joke, there was no car. Wonderful 16th.

I did end up getting a car, a month later. I didn't get my license until 4 months after I turned 16. Ended up wrecking my car a month later and then being forced to grow up. Before, even though I always wanted to be older, I was Daddy's little girl. My dad understood me better than my mother and would normally take my side or help me out of scrapes, not to mention let me take advances on my now monthly allowance that I would go over every single month.

I still sometimes want to be older than I am. People don't take me seriously half the time because they still think I'm too young to understand. I think people with that mindset are completely wrong. There are some 40 year olds out there who comprehend less than people half their age. It all has to do with your experiences. I finally try to embrace my age. I don't want to relinquish the ability to make mistakes and do dumb things (which I constantly do) without having someone give me a weird look and tell me to act my age. That does happen sometimes, but I roll with it. I think regrets are dumb, don't regret something that happened, move on and learn from it. The only thing I think I regret in my life is wanting to grow up too fast and not enjoying being a kid.