It’s Your 18th Birthday! Here’s How to Celebrate

by Alex Huizar

Happy 18th Birthday! You are now legally an adult. Searching for things to do with this newfound freedom? Here are 19 things you can do when you turn the big 18.

You can’t really do too much at 18; it’s not that big a change. But there are a few things you can do.  

1. Get a tattoo without parental consent. Head out to local parlor (or make an appointment) and get a little dynamite on your hip.
2. Buy a lottery ticket. Recently, a 20-year-old man in Florida won $451 million in a lottery. You could be next!
3. Lease or rent an apartment. Tired of living with your parents? With a little money, you can legally live on your own.
4. Vote. Frustrated of having no say in your education and taxes? Go out and vote in the spring for the governor election in Illinois
5. Change your name. Your name is your identity! If your name doesn’t fit your personality, you have the opportunity to change it.
6. Open a bank account. You worked all those holidays and weekends since you were 16 years old, and now you can save with a brand new bank account.
7. Sue someone. Someone just did you dirty, and as a grown adult you can take them to Judge Judy.
8. Get called on for jury duty. You’ve seen “Law and Order,” but now you get to experience all the action with front row seats at jury duty.
9. Get married. Have a high school sweetheart? Get hitched at City Hall after your birthday!
10. Join the military. You’ve dreamed of being Superman or Wonder Woman and now you have the chance to be a hero, too.
11. Buy a car. No more buses or trains now that you can buy your own wheels!
12. Get a credit card. No cash on you? No problem — with your new credit card on you.
13. Get a piercing without parental consent. Your body, your rules — no parental consent needed. Go on down to your local tattoo parlor for more details
14. Gamble. Just got paid? Drive on over to Indiana and get the adrenaline of earning some more money.
15. Book a hotel room. If you have no big plans after prom you can spend the night at a hotel with some friends.
16. Make a will. Death may knock on your door any day so don’t wait! Call up a lawyer and make your will now.
17. Pawn stuff at a pawn shop. Need a little cash? Go pawn the ring that you don’t wear anymore.
18. If adopted, see your original birth certificate. Before you head to ancestry.com start with your birth certificate.
19. Consent to your body being used in a medical study. If you love science, go be a part of a research. You may change the course of medical science. (Also, you might get paid!)

Then there are the downsides of turning 18 years old. Some may get cut off from their parents. Or some may wait until after graduation or if you go to college. A lot of movies and television show cast an illusion of adulthood being so magnificent. You go from being a kid to a grown up in a matter of a day and have no idea how to handle the outside world.