Why are girls in such a hurry to grow up?

When I think back to my childhood, I have memories of me running around dressed like a boy and doing things that boys do. This involved climbing trees, rolling around in the mud and genuinely not giving a damn about what I looked like. I'd come home with twigs stuck in my hair, grass stains on the knees of my trousers and looking rather worse for ware. If I compare this to the childhoods of young girls today, oh how so much has changed.

Walking through the town centre of Southampton, I have to look twice at some of the girls that walk past me. One girl is wearing high waisted denim hot-pants with over the knee socks and vans. Then there is the massive back combed hair that's going on and of course the extensions (what girl doesn't have extensions nowadays?). This along with the plastered on makeup and bright pink lips, you'd expect her to be at least 18, wouldn't you? Wrong. A second glance makes me realise she can't be any older than about 13. So why are girls so quick to grow up and look older than what they are?

Some of you might think that's normal for a 13-year-old girl, but where you like that at 13? I doubt it. Maybe it's just how things are now; as the years pass by things become more socially acceptable and not so shocking.

Celebrities obviously have a big impact on young girls. The amount of media attention that they gain concerning their appearance is ridiculous; is there not anything more important to report on? Or is it that girls are just very competitive? It's sad that young girls feel the need to dress and present themselves to be older than what they are; a childhood should be cherished, not wished away. I don't even think I knew what fashion was at 13? As long as I was comfortable and able to run around doing whatever I was doing, then I was happy.

Observing some of the teenagers of today, I can't imagine any of them acting how I did as a child; they'd be to concerned about breaking a nail or getting a speck of dirt on them. I wish that they could know just how quickly the time will go until they become adults, with responsibilities and a job...then they'll soon wish they could be innocent children again with not a care in the world.