Twenty Candles

“You can’t be 16 forever.” -Molly Ringwald

My mom would always tell me about Miss Molly Ringwald and how she was the “it” girl of the 80’s. And that is the exact reason why I should not have been afraid to turn 20.

For starters, I am the master at the numbers game. The way the game works is one is entitled a number that defines him or her for 365 days. As of this year, my number in this game is my 20th birthday.

When I think of 20, I think of the twenties. 20 marks the start of adulthood; while the twenties mark the decade my parents fell in love. 20 marks the age I am entitled to for 365 days; while the twenties mark the first and brand new decade I will live through without the mom my dad fell in love with.

But to reiterate, I am the master at playing the numbers game, which is why I did not let my birthday scare me. The thing is, there is a loophole to every game and here is the loophole to mine. Although turning 20 seemed like a page turner for a new chapter of my life that I would have to write without my mom, to define my life in solely written numerical form is to limit myself entirely.

No matter what number I play in the numbers game, I will always hold the prize of remembering the countless times my mom talked about Molly Ringwald, the “it” girl of the 80’s. Therefore, just like that, no matter what number I play in the numbers game, I will forever hold the prize of being able to share all the memories of my mom, the “it” girl of a lifetime.

And that is the exact reason why I am not afraid of being 20 and living in my twenties, nor shall anyone else fear it either.
Carpe diem.