The Struggle is Real: Living the 22-year-old struggle

Man, the struggle is real…
Last week, I turned 22 years old and on my birthday I had at least three friends tell me happy birthday while making a reference to how “I am getting old.”
Being 22 is not old. I have only been on this earth for 8,045 days (yes, I did figure in the leap years). I have barely experienced life.
I have experienced love, mainly of chocolate and softball, but that is still real love; I have gained and lost friends; I have experienced death, both of grandparents who lived a long life and of friends who were much too young to die.
I have graduated high school and am about to graduate college; I played 14 years of softball, participated in nine plays, and including this paper, published 105 newspapers as either the sports editor or managing editor.
I have lived a solid 22 years of life, but I am not old.
I occasionally wake up with a sore back; I can barely walk after a day of snowboarding; and my shoulders pop and crack at random times, but I am not old.
I cannot eat as much junk food and sweets as I would like; I cannot stay awake for an entire movie; and I cannot remember what I need at Wal-Mart without a list, but I am not old.
At only 22 years old, I still make mistakes; I still leave messes, especially in my car; and I still eat more junk food than I should.
This 22-year-old is awkward. This 22-year-old is immature at times. And this 22-year-old is still just trying to live life to the fullest.
People may jokingly call me old, and I may make jokes about feeling old and about my body getting old. But I really am not that old.
My mom has told me for years that she wishes she could go back to when I was little and cute—she wants me to be about 3 years old. My grandmas both tell me I am growing up too fast. But, despite what my mom and grandmas think, I am not old.
There is so much life left to experience, and God-willing I plan to live a long, fulfilling life. I plan to never grow old (you know, like Peter Pan).
I know I cannot stop myself from getting older, but I honestly believe there is a difference between getting older and getting old. I plan to never reach that old stage. I want to live like a 10-year-old, love endlessly, trust like a child, and take crazy adventures.
Sure, life is difficult, life is confusing, and life is definitely frustrating at times.
The struggle is surely real, but once again, so is chocolate, so life must still be sweet.