Me: "I'm 18!" Mom: "It's your bedtime!"

I've always thought having a set age for things was weird. I mean I get that some people aren't mature enough to handle something before a certain age. But really what's different about me between Nov.3 at 11:59 and Nov. 4th 12:00? Nothing really, I don't wake up on my birthday and feel more responsible or look older- in fact I don't feel anything new really. So how come on Nov. 4th I could stay out as late as I wanted on and not on Nov. 3rd? I just don't get it. Ok, let me take that back, I get it. This is America, the land of fairness and equality. Sure I was probably responsible enough to drive a car when I was 15, but Joe Shmoe sitting next to me was FOR SURE not. So who gets to decide how responsible I am? And that's where the gov comes in. And it's helpful, don't get me wrong. But how am I supposed to learn how to handle my new responsibilities when just a minute ago, they weren't granted to me? There are ways you can get around the law, ways you can practice before it's legal. That's why we need to log a bajillion hours behind the wheel with a parent before we can get our license. But I feel there would be a lot less teen accidents if we could've built up to driving on our own with cellphones, friends and other distractions. Because once you have that little piece of plastic, you're free, you're parent won't be there to tell you to slow down at that yellow light, to focus on the road and not the people on the sidewalk. Because of these rules, I need to become responsible overnight, I need to learn how to make good decisions at midnight. I see how our rules solve problems, but I see how strict we are with following and realize we need to ease everyone into maturity, I think we could solve a lot of problems.