The Meaning of Turning 17

I turned seventeen today, July 1. So I'm wondering, what does/did turning 17 mean to you? What are some things you wish you knew? How would you spend the day if you could go back (or forward) to your seventeenth?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really it seemed like another day for me, people wished me a happy birthday but it was not like a huge special event :P Hope your day is great though!! :)

Happy birthday

My friends and I got drunk as a skunk on my 17th birthday, and I ended up getting into a fight with a dude who cut the side of my neck with a box cutter, my 17th birthday taught me to watch my mouth.

I think my 17th birthday was one of the lamest ones I've had, haha. I don't think I did anything other than hang out with my boyfriend at the time and have cake and ice cream with my immediate family. Borrrinnggg.

My 17th was at the end of May and well, I wished I could've just cut straight to my 18th instead. It meant very little to me. I didn't change or feel different in any way at all.

I slept round my friend's house the night before and then walked home with a group of friends and ate junk food all day then had a meal out with my parents.

My 17th was your average, bog-standard birthday.

My 17th birthday was fun - went shopping and to a restuarant and all that - but it wasn't really a milestone for me. I turned 18 earlier this year and even though that makes me able to go out drinking etc and is kinda seen as like the age you become an adult, I still don't feel much different. In fact if anything it's kind of annoying as I used to go to the cinema literally every weekend and get student tickets which were pretty cheap, but now to go to the cinema it's like...£8.50! And I can't spend that every weekend along with all the other crap I buy.

My 17th birthday consisted of a small family party at my house, then a small surprise Spongebob themed party at my fiance's parent's house. First thing I learned after I turned 17? Tacos, cake, and alcohol do not mix at all.

My birthday was in January and I went to Glo, a big, really well-known rave in my area that was held the day before my birthday, for my 17th with my (former) best friend. It was also for her 16th birthday. It was by far one of the most amazing, fun, draining, wild, epic beyond reason nights of my life, and definitely one of my fondest memories (from what I do remember, that is...). :)

However, my 17th birthday really just meant being one step closer to 18, and for my 18th birthday I'll be attending the same rave because next year it's on my actual birthday. Can't wait. :)

Well, I didn't do much for my 17th birthday, but I've never really done much for birthdays, so that didn't bother me.

When I first turned 17 it was kind of like a wake-up call, I haven't really done much with my life, I've been sheltered since I was born, so I've never really been like others. I always learned slow and grew slow, it was like I was afraid of taking that extra step into a new place. And my childhood was kind of my comfort in all that, I am innocent and unknowing in many things and I always knew I could hide behind my childhood and it would be an excuse. I could say, "I don't have to know that yet, I don't have to do that yet; I'm just a kid."
Turning 17 kind of made me realize that regardless of the fact I have hidden from the world this long, I won't be able to hide like this forever. I won't be able to stay only in my comfort zone. My world won't always be limited to my imagination...And one day, I have to step out into this world, and deal with whatever it throws at me...Never coming back to the comfort I have lived in.

It may sound weird, but it scared me pretty bad, and still does at times. I mean, I feel like I still should be 16, and if I could make that choice; I would be 16, because I don't want to be 18 in a year. I don't want to have to step out into the world and face people...But I know I will have to.

I'm just 17 still, but I know I will miss my childhood and the innocence I had like nothing else.

I remember myself crying at 12:00 AM on April 25th because I became 17 years old and didn't want to grow up hahaha. I spent the day complaining, and it was on a holiday so I wasn't able to get out of the city, but the next day I did and had fun :)

My 17th birthday was just like any other day. I went to school, saw my friends during the day, then went home and sat around until I went out to dinner with my family at a small restaurant. I didn't feel any different. I was just one year closer to being 18, where I am now, although at the time, I expected to have a little more freedom.

My seventeenth birthday wasn't much different from any other birthday. Just another year older it seemed. Maybe when I turn eighteen, though, in November, it'll feel different, mostly due to having more freedom.

When I turned seventeen it didn't feel any different then the birthdays before it. To me it just mean I was another year before I was an adult. Next year when I hit twenty it will probably feel exactly the same. Just not with the "almost an adult" part because I'll be one.

I don't even look nineteen. I look like a freaking fifteen year old and I'm the size of a thirteen year old. WTF?

To me, turning seventeen means getting into R rated movies. It's not much different then 16.

<sup>My seventeenth birthday was less than a month ago.

I really did not do anything or feel anything special.</sup>

Happy belated birthday. I hope you had a great day.

My 17th birthday was over 7 years ago and it wasn't anything special. Turning 16 was nice for me, since I could start going out to parties and turning 18 was special because it was legal for me to buy alcoholics other than beer and wine and I could get my driver's license. But 17 was just another day in the life. Plus since my bday is in June I always had finals that day when in high school.
Definitely had a lot more memorable bdays since :).

Thanks for the birthday wished from some of you, and all your stories. My day consisted of birthday sex, a wonderful carnival with the love of my life, and family that technically isn't mine but loves me more than my own biological family. The only downside was that Will (fiance) and I had a minor disagreement. But overall I'd say it was the best birthday in a long time. And it took me one step closer to 18, as most of you said, which is when I get to be free from the place I'm living in and we can live together with that family I mentioned earlier this post. The family that loves me as their own, even though I'm just the wasicu (white in the Lakota language) girl William's been in love with for years. The girl from the phone since I'd call almost every night since 2008. But I'm getting sidetracked. My 17th was great, the prequel to an even greater day that is now less than a year away. =)

I'm turning seventeen in six days... To be honest, it's not really that big of a deal to me. I doubt I'm going to get to do much for it -- I'm hoping to get a new camera, though. XD

My 17th birthday was pretty great. My party was a close get together with my friends. We had a bonfire then went on a star lit walk with glo sticks and cider an coco. I love my friends and it was a great birthday

My seventeenth birthday I had a party where no one but my two best friends came to, but I was okay with that because they made it one of the best birthdays ever.
Being 17 was kind of a slap in the face though. I mean, you can get into rated R movies, but you have to wait another year to be a legal adult.