I was born on, October 18, 2005, and today it is January 17th, 2023, which makes me 17 years old—being 17. I wanna say that as of today my favorite age is 17 but it is not. I think in the future it is going to be 21, but right now I would say it is 16. 16 is my favorite age because of getting my license and also just a sophomore, but it is also my favorite age because I had the best teammates for volleyball ever and it was also my last year playing. 

Getting my license was important because once I got it, it was like my own little box where all my thoughts were collected. It is like having the freedom that as a kid you thought you would never get. It is like my own form of therapy. Getting my license has given me so much more of everything but has also made my bank account read zero. 

I loved being a sophomore because it was the most accessible year for me. My grades and my friends might not have been the best but it still was the easiest year of high school so far. There was no stress coming from the ACT, or college, and I had played volleyball through the highschool which is where I found all of the people that are worth my time now. Being a sophomore was like being a baby bird, not much was expected but you still had to do stuff on your own without help from teachers. The stress that comes from being a junior is so hard, it's like all the information that is being put in my head is just coming out the other end, and there's no helping it. Being a junior has no pauses or breaks its just 100% all the time. 

I would say my favorite thing about being 16 was the teammates that I had when I was this age. For club volleyball, I had the most family-like teammates ever. They made me laugh, they made every issue I had to go away. “I am so proud of you Sid” is something that one of my closest friends on the team would say to me while being on the court, and that meant more to me than anything else. I remember one time on the court I had messed up really badly and it was a close game, but everyone around me gave me comfort and told me “shake it off, you got this” which made it hard to look at things in a bad light. 

Being 16 has its ups and downs but for me, it was the best year for me. Being able to drive and having the freedom and confront my car, my sophomore years impact, and last but not least the teammates and people that I met. I would say that 16 was still a hard year for me but I got through and that's what really matters. I know the title says 17 or 21, but I say 16, and that’s okay.