Photographs | Dallas Winston

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     "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear, Milli..."

They all took a deep breath to finish out the song, and I smiled as I prepared to blow out my eighteen candles.

    "Happy Birthday to you!"

In the darkened dining room, I took the final signifying breath of my childhood and watched as the little clouds of wispy smoke arose from the wicks of the hot pink birthday candles.

My family and friends cheered all around, clapping and whistling and giving me big smiles accompanied by teary eyes. I'd probably never looked forward to a day quite like I did this one, but now that it was here, I felt it was flying by a little too fast.

My dad turned the lights back up and everyone sat back down in their seats, awaiting their own slice of chocolate birthday cake.

"Well, how does it feel to be an adult, now?" My little sister asked.

I smiled. "Pretty great."

"That's all you have to say." She drawled, dropping her fork playfully in her cake. "I thought being an adult would be more exciting than just great."

"How about you try it for a day, eh?" My best friend piped up with a grin. "For my eighteenth birthday I had to work. You know, makin' money and supportin' the U.S. economy."

My little sister rolled her eyes, playfully. "Well, Milli, you'd better get on that, I guess."

I laughed, thanking my dad as he placed a big slice of chocolate cake in front of me.

"Yeah, I look forward to it." I said, lighthearted sarcasm in my tone. "Adulting is gonna be so fun."

"It's going to be great." My best friend winked over at me. "It takes some getting used to, but soon enough you'll get the hang of it."

"Aw, thanks, Angie." I smiled. "Any tips?"

"Oh, lord, I don't know if I'm the one you need to come to for tips." She laughed. "But here's my best advice,"

I caught myself getting a little nervous as she paused. Turning eighteen was a little more nerve-wracking than I'd anticipated.

"Don't worry about growing old. Just because your body ages don't mean your soul has to, you know? Adulthood is just the continuation of growing up, everybody just gets caught up in the loss of freedom because of responsibilities." She clasped her hands in front of her. "Sure, it'll be hard sometimes. But life's hard, anyway. So, don't sweat it, Milli. You're gonna do great things. No doubt."

The room had quieted by the time she'd finished, and she noticed because she looked around and said, "Good lord, folks, I ain't the president."

Everybody busted out laughing, lightening the mood almost instantaneously. The room resumed its usual buzz of laughing and talking, giving me a moment to process all of what Angie had said.

I took a deep breath, smiling to myself.

Maybe this wouldn't be too bad after all.

After we finished our cake, it was time to open presents. I was eagerly ushered into the living room by my friends, while I looked back at my mom with a helpless smile because she was the only one left cleaning up the mess we'd left behind.

"Open mine first!" My little sister yelled.

I sat down in the maroon recliner with everyone watching me, smiles spread across their faces.