What they don’t tell you about growing up is that it comes with a strange phase where life starts to feel like a never-ending competition. The glittering teenage dream we clung to as a kid either shatters at 18 or morphs into something new, depending on how you embrace the chaos. The moment you begin treating life as a constant performance — endlessly auditioning for roles that don’t exist, seeking validation, or convincing yourself that only victory can define your worth — no triumph, no matter how grand, will ever feel enough to satisfy.