I’ve always been told that I seem much older than 18. Many of my friends from uni were absolutely shocked to know that I was only 18 and they thought I was kidding. I’ve always hung out with older people; always being the youngest, I didn’t really have a choice. I have an older sister, I have older friends (my best friend is 20) and even my partner is 3 and a half years older than me. My best friend at uni is turning 24 this year and she didn’t realise I was 18 until a couple of weeks ago. She was so surprised.
And I never had any idea what anyone was talking about. I’d always be like, “Well, what do you mean? I am 18? I go out with you guys all the time!’ But I’d never been out with anyone who was the same age as me until last week.
Oh. Right. I definitely get it now. It was as if I had a little sister and I had to look after her constantly. And these weren’t even directly my friends. These girls were wearing ridiculous shoes that would only work if you were going to dinner or a formal event (lots of sitting down), they’d attempted fake eyelashes and their curls were flat an hour into the night. I’m not judging them on looks though; I’d forgiven the rookie mistakes. They were a messy handful of 18 year old girl that I was not used to.
They screamed and squealed constantly when ‘their song’ came on (which was every second song), they drank too much too quickly and were hooking up with sleazy boys left, right and centre. They spilled their drinks everywhere and dirty danced and fell over each other giggling.
How did I not know that this was the stereotype being given to me when I tell people that I’m 18? More to the point, how come I’d never acted like this? I felt like I was a mother trying to control her rowdy children and stop them from embarrassing themselves, but I don’t babysit for free. Instead of taking advantage of their incapability to think and have them buy me drinks as payment for saving them from potentially humiliating situations, I merely left them to their own devices and learn from their mistakes.
Yes, I am a bitch, and probably a hypocrite, but mistakes are the best learning process. And walking barefoot through Kings Cross and throwing up on the night rider are life lessons that have to be learned when you go clubbing. At least I am not a total disgrace to my age or to myself and prefer to find my phone in a pool of vomit next to my bed and use this as a lesson well learned.
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