Too young to be old but too old to be young.

When did growing up mean getting boring?

Am I the only one that longs for those rebellious, live for the night moments when the only futuristic thoughts involved what to wear to the football game Friday night? Now, I find myself thinking about buying health insurance and curtains. It's unfair to live in the past, I know, but I can't help but feel like my life is so boring compared to what my life was like 7 years ago (Holy cow... was it really 7 years ago?! Wait a minute... why didn't I get an invite to my 5 year reunion?).  I spend my Saturday nights in my little apartment watching movies and playing with my cat. Not to mention watching really funny animal videos. I'm sure if I were to have a conversation with someone older than myself, they would laugh at me. I think only fellow twenty-somethings understand the awkward transition we find ourselves in quite often; too young to be old, but too old to be young. Weekends as a twenty-something are a hit or miss. They are either full of exciting plans and friends, or full of coffee, studying and movies. But is this supposed to happen eventually? Is there supposed to be a time when the weekends slow down and become something different than boozed-filled nights you don't remember?

I get it, we grow up. But does growing up have to mean no more excitement? I feel as though I spend more time laughing on past memories rather than making new ones, and I'm only 24! All I wanted when I was younger was to be older and have my own life. I wanted to grow up so fast. Now, I wish I could go back to those innocent days when sneaking out of my bedroom window was the most rebellious thing I had ever done. These days I spend most of my time networking with the "real" professionals, working, checking my online account balance, studying for midterms and drinking way too much coffee. When I think about it... I don't do a lot of the extra things that really make me happy.

With so much responsibility, pressure and constant reminders of friends who seem to have fabulous lives  (and post about it on Facebook) it can be hard to feel okay with where you are right now. This often leads to boredom which then leads to questions about where the time went, which then leads to the weird feeling that you are running out of it, pushing you to want more of the spontaneous nights that were endless when we were teenagers.

How do we balance growing up in the world with staying young at heart?