In 10 days I will be 22.

And it’s about time.

I can’t wait to be done being 21 - to not feel like a kid going out on the town for the first time every time I get carded, to not have waitrons squint at me and say, “You’re only 21?”

Twenty-one was an enjoyable year, sure, but I am ready to be done with trips to the bar.

I was so excited to turn 21, if only so I could go to the bar with my boyfriend or have a glass of wine when I go out for dinner. It’s not even that I wanted the wine. I just wanted the option.

But now that I have it, I can’t wait to be older.

It hasn’t been all that exciting. The past year has made me more mature - I lived on my own for the first time, I had a real job, I said goodbye to a lot of friends who graduated. This summer I tasted real life at a newspaper in Boston. I wasn’t accountable to anyone but myself. I want to feel that way again.

I’m 21 going on 40