You guessed it, it's my birthday this Saturday. Actually, it's my golden birthday. Twenty on the twentieth. Yup, that's me.

Many times during the past I have listened to older and wiser friends discuss the weirdness of being that age. The in-between age where you are no longer a teenager and you're not exactly a full time adult yet. Some even call it the "year of confusion." And to me, that analogy makes great sense.

The year of being age 20, split between sophomore and junior year. It is the year before a person makes the final decision to take those entrance tests, begin applying for the continuation of their education, practice posing for a new ID. Very stressful times. So stressful, that I fear some people may get lost and not enjoy each day. It is a stress that I am trying to avoid at all costs.

Too often, I see people break out the 365-day countdown on the evening of their 20th birthday. My question: Why are you so eager to grow older? Enjoy each year. Putting a line through each day for a year until you turn a year older is no way to spend a life. It is wasteful. Instead, enjoy each day, and live each moment.

What happens if for some tragic reason you don't see your 21st birthday? Will your life be any less successful because you failed to cross off all 365 days? Will anyone remember you as a failure if you only make it through a couple of them? I think not. I would hope that everyday you lived held memories and learning experiences that shaped and made being twenty worth living for.

I will admit, I have been scared of growing older with past birthdays. I was a little worried at 16, feeling I was the only teenager in the world without a car of her own. I was a little frightened at 18 when I officially became my own legal guardian, breaking away from the parental security blanket that had covered me through problems of the past. I was a little scared at 19 when I started thinking about the fact that things happen to people everyday and that I might not live to see my next birthday.

But things are different this year. I am not scared of turning 20. I am actually kind of proud. I look at what I have become, and I look forward to becoming what I aspire to be — or not to be. Either way, I choose to live, and enjoy every moment of everyday as a twenty-year-old daughter, student, and friend.

Twenty years old. One fifth of a hundred years. I am thankful for every single minute of that one fifth. I wouldn't exchange any second. So, what am I trying to say? Turning 20 is just another notch in the belt. Funny enough, 21 will be too. With the exception that I'll need to have someone else hold my drink while I furiously chip away.

But until that day comes, I will enjoy it all. Twenty is a wonderful age. A year full of growth and enlightenment. I only hope that people realize this and live for this instead of looking forward to waking up and crossing one more day off on their calendar.

Yes. The confusion, the wonderment, 365 days of being 20.

I am ready for what the year unfolds.

Bring it on. I'm 20, and I can handle it.

• 20 candles on the cake