I'm a birthday person; I absolutely love them, and not just mine, but everyone's. I love making cards and putting together nice birthday presents (if my bank account allows it). It's just the getting older part that bothers me. In an ideal world we would have our annual birthday without getting older (after a certain age of choice, that is; perhaps 18?)

Last week I turned 21, and for months before people kept telling me that I should enjoy it, because apparently it all goes downhill from here. And if you think about it, for four years preceding our 21st year of existence we have landmark birthdays, and then all of a sudden we're adults (trust me, it hits you really hard and really fast). In my opinion, 18 is a great age, we're adults but we're not adults. If you're seen acting childish or doing silly things it doesn't matter because you are, after all, a hormonal teenager. Nineteen, however, is a little more complicated. A friend and I recently concluded that it is also a rather pointless age (we should just go from eighteen to twenty, right?). Being 19 is like being the middle child; you are too old to be young and too young to be old. When you really think about it though, it actually should be an age that we relish. It's our last official year as a teenager. Once the year is up you have to make the big move to the 20-25 box at the doctors' office.

The first thing my best friend said to me after wishing me happy birthday was Oh my God Saira, you're an old fart! so it is needless to say that I feel old as hell. There has to be a flip side to this, right? I mean besides the fact that I can legally buy alcohol now (Though I can bet that for the next month anytime I pass a cop while I've been drinking I will probably cringe).

During one of my moments of despair I decided to conduct some research on turning 21. The link at the top of the page was a list of Twenty-one things to think about when turning 21 compiled by The Home Planet.

Finally I had found the silver lining!

Unfortunately, by the time I was halfway through the article I felt even older than before I had started. To give you an idea of what I was dealing with I am putting in the first three points for you to read:

1. Learn to forgive. Hurtful things are going to happen to you. Learn to let it go. Carrying a grudge is like trying to climb Mount Everest with a boulder in your backpack. It weighs you down and holds you back.

2. Say "I love you" and say "I'm sorry." These really are the magic words. Learn when to say them, say them often, and mean it when you say them.

3. Be a child. Open your eyes every morning like you are opening them for the first time. Look closely at the world around you and find your place in it.

So should I stab myself now or later? I mean come on, I just turned 21! I don't want to read about

getting hurt and saying I'm sorry and I love you. Just tell me that I have rent and credit card bills to look forward to!

So then I got to thinking, maybe 21 isn't actually so bad. I still have some time left in school, so I don't need to worry about a 9-5 job yet. I am a college student, so I'm allowed to be an even bigger idiot than I was in high school because after all,

I'm a hormonal college student. I can go to class wearing my pajamas with a cup of coffee and not worry about being told to leave. And most importantly, I can drink without freaking out about RAs. Yeah, I think I'm beginning to like this age. I'll worry about getting old next year.