About Me

Welcome to My Life

(the good, the bad, and the ugly)

Name: Katherine Weitbrecht

Major: Psychology and Criminology

Interests: Playing music, sewing, horseback riding, playing with my animals (2 chinchillas and a rabbit), playing video games, and blogging on occasion

Song: "Girl on Fire" By: Alicia Keys

Where I'm from: Braintree, MA

(Sunset Lake)

Have I come of age?

Personally I think coming of age has no definitive end. Everyone is constantly growing and evolving as people throughout their lives. I don't feel like I will ever reach a point where I can confidently say that I have completely come of age but I'm okay with that. I would rather continue to grow every day than to reach a peak where I no longer mature mentally.

I have always found myself in a higher stage of maturity of more mentally "of age" than my peers. However, at age 12 I started working for my family's business and had to give up gong to some sleepovers and birthday parties for the sake of making money and helping my family. At 12 years old that was hard for me to understand but by being put into that position I didn't have much of a choice but to learn to understand at an early age.

In freshman year of high school I got my first solo in a concert and had to get over my immense fear of public failure and learn to loosen up and live in the moment.

At age 16 my pen-pal and best friend became my boyfriend. While this may seem insignificant to coming of age, it has been one of the most life changing events that I have gone through. he lives 250 miles (around 5 hours) away from me. At age 16 I started working two jobs at once in order to afford plane tickets. Most people my age sign up for Tinder and enjoy meaningless flings but here I am at age 18 and I don't feel even a little disappointed that I never got to experience it because of the relationship I do have. It's emotionally taxing to be so far apart but it has taught me so many valuable lessons about communication, sacrifice, trust, and so much more. Not to mention, flying alone can be pretty scary.

Moving into college was a big step in my life. I had always lived in the same home throughout my entire life and never went to sleep away camps. Being away from my family (and my pets) was emotionally difficult but it threw me into a position where I would have to become more independent. I couldn't just ask my mom to do my laundry anymore or go hang out with my high school friends when I had a rough day. It was emotionally challenging as someone with social anxiety to force myself to go out and make new friends but in the end I did it and it was a huge milestone in my life. I also officially became super broke and had to take out loans (RIP).

Very early on into my freshman year in college I was violently attacked (I won't get into details). Although clearly it was very traumatizing, it made me aware of how serious of an epidemic this is on college campuses and that colleges tend to mishandle try to cover these stories up. I know people who follow my Instagram are sick of hearing me say it and probably think I'm crazy at this point but after going through this I found the whole process to be very troubling and problematic. The point is, going through all of that has been a big wake up call and ignited a passion in me that I never knew I had before.

Now, I make speeches alongside my lawyer, in front of high school seniors and their parents, warning them of the reality behind these issues and advising them how to handle it if they find themselves in a similar position. There was no feeling more satisfying than having people line up to thank me after making my very first speech. It made me feel mature and proud that I had done something that many adults cannot.

Overall, most of my coming of age process has occurred when I have been forcefully pushed out of my comfort zone and had to learn to navigate new situations. A coming of age has lots of ups and downs, each of which you grow from. It's not something that can be measured but you can just sense when something that has occurred will cause you to become more "of age" and you can see it in the way you handle situations you're put in.