In this vlog, Tilly Lockey reflects on turning 18 and the mixed emotions that come with officially becoming an adult. She opens with a vivid memory from her 18th birthday in Tenerife, where a neighbor offered her a beer, making the legal transition feel real. Tilly revisits an earlier video where she discussed the anxiety of moving from 16 to 18, describing the perceived massive gap between teenage years and adulthood. She explores the pressure to achieve early success, citing young prodigies like Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish, and notes how society expects competence once you reach adulthood. The video then shifts to the new freedoms and opportunities that come with being 18—legal rights, job prospects, and more relaxed social interactions—while also acknowledging lingering anxieties about future milestones, especially turning 20. Tilly emphasizes that age does not determine worth; skill and authenticity matter more. She shares personal insights about maintaining her playful, "big‑fat‑kid" identity despite growing responsibilities, and offers encouragement to younger viewers who fear aging, reassuring them that 18 can be fun and that they should continue to pursue their ambitions without being constrained by age expectations. The vlog ends with a call to action for likes, comments, and subscriptions.
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I was like, why is he offering me beer? Like, he knows I'm a kid. But then I was like, I'm not. And he literally said, oh, if you're 18, birthday. And that's when it all made sense to me. And I was like, damn, yeah, I'm 18. People do just offer me beer. Hey everyone, it's Tilly, and welcome back to my YouTube channel. Now, anybody who knows me and looking at these hands right now are probably thinking, why aren't you wearing the pink ones? The pink ones would make so much more sense. I love to match my arms to my outfit, and so it would would have been the pink ones, and I can't lie, I was looking for them until I figured out I think they're outside in the car, and I wasn't prepared to go out and collect them. So, Alida Brown Sitters! What I want to talk about today though is being 18. Basically means I'm an adult now. Ah, that's so scary. If you've been a subscriber for a while, you know I have this thing about aging, and I actually have like a video on my YouTube channel not too— maybe a bit longer ago actually. It's titled Watch This If You're Turning 16, 17, or 18, I think. And it basically talks all about that and how I was scared to age because it felt like, like those ages, even though they're really, really young, it feels like there's this massive gap between them. Like 16 to 17, 17 to 18, obviously you become an adult. I watched that video back the other day and I was 16, 15 actually, maybe turning— no, I was 16 turning 17. So I was 16 in that, which feels so much younger than I am now. And that was 2 years ago. But like I said, that gap just feels absolutely incredible, like the amount of maturing, growing, everything you do from 16 to 18 to be able to be classed as an adult is like insane. So yeah, I watched that video back and I was like, oh my gosh, she's a baby. But when I was watching that video back of me being like talking about all my fears and stuff about turning 17, it just felt really, really interesting watching that back, watching me talk about that and now being 18. A whole adult. So like, this is just really, really interesting for me to have both videos on my channel. Um, you guys have basically watched me age and become an adult, which is crazy. But also be able to be 18 now and like, I guess sort of offer my younger self advice, or anybody else who relates to that entire concept in that video, because I know there are a lot of comments of people saying similar things, and they'll all probably be about 18 now as well, which is crazy. We grew up together. But yeah, now I'm 18. I'm still not really How do you say it? Like mentally sound with that idea. But I think more than anything, that just hasn't really absorbed because like I say in that video, you wake up and it's just a normal day. Like I felt illegal doing the thing. I woke up on my 18th birthday and we were in Tenerife. It was absolutely incredible. And our next door neighbors was this family from Birmingham. I remember because their accent was so distinct. They were like chilling around the pool that day, as were we, before we hit the clubs. And he offered me like some beer and my immediate instinct was to be like, well, number one I was like, why is he offering me beer? Like, he knows I'm a kid. But then I was like, I'm not. And he literally said, oh, for your 18th birthday. And that's when it all made sense to me. And I was like, damn, yeah, I'm 18. People do just offer me beer. An overarching theme of that video was talking about how I felt like I had to accomplish a lot at a really, really young age because I feel like the people who are really, really successful are literally getting younger and younger. Like, you see the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, and Billie Eilish was super young as well. Like, you You've got literal child CEOs nowadays, which is insane. I was talking about how you can be the best ever at what you do as a child and people are like, whoa, so much more impressed by it, like you're a prodigy. But then when you're 18 or an adult, it's like they expect you to be good. And I felt when I was making that video a lot of people probably wouldn't feel that way, but then actually I was surprised by the amount of comments going, OMG, yes, and that's why I'm making this video. But yeah, now I'm 18 and I'm still doing all like the business-y stuff that, you know, I would have done when I was 14. What I do want to report is that nothing stopped. Like, the praise didn't stop, the jobs coming in didn't stop just because you're older and there's like more people of that age. If anything, I feel like it probably picked up a bit more because there were a couple of jobs I had to turn down because I wasn't 18. So now I'm going into 2024— obviously this is— it's 2024 is the year I'm going to spend most of my life being 18 years old. I feel like it is actually going to be like an advantage somehow. Professionalism aside though, I do feel like I just feel a lot more mature. And I always felt mature even when I was a kid, but I think it may be now I'm 18, I have sort of no excuses to not do what I want to do because pretty much everything that usually had like an age boundary restriction, um, I could do now. So I feel like that sort of offered a bit of fire and motivation. It did definitely come with like an extra will to do what I want to do. Like I said, there's no excuse really not to anymore. I actually found socially it helped me out a lot. I felt— I feel like when people find out that you're 18 and they're an adult, like, they feel more comfortable talking to you about like adulty things and they don't need to filter as much, which I found kind of happened a little bit when I was younger. And I think the other key thing, which is actually a lot of relief, is that I feel like I'm through those crazy years which used to give you so much anxiety. Well, maybe not. I feel like turning 20 will probably be a big one. Sorry to anyone turning 20 in the chat, but people do talk about that, like the fact I'm turning 20, like I'm no longer a teen, even though 18 is like the adult point. But yeah, everything I was struggling to, like, I need to achieve all this before I'm 18, has now sort of just moved to I need to achieve all this before I'm 20. So actually, maybe, maybe the anxiety about the gap isn't gone, but now I'm an adult, I feel a lot, I don't know, more like qualified to give out advice, and I have more confidence to come out with like these crazy ideas. Some people could be like, oh, you're just a kid, like don't be silly, your imagination and all that. But I'm like, no, I'm an adult now, and I'm an adult with the same mentality I had as a kid, but I'm an adult. I can't lie, when I turned 18, I did feel like a child doing all of this like stuff. I felt like undercover almost, which was quite fun. I'm pretty freshly 18. I've only been 18 for about 2 months now, so honestly it's still sort of sinking in. Like people will ask me my age and I'll still say 17. It doesn't matter what age you are, you'll always identify yourself with a certain age. Like, to me, I'm 16, I think. 16 or 17. But actually, the biggest thing, and I think people with early birthdays in, in my, like, class year will be feeling, um, this is our first Christmas as adults. And that's like— I used to be worried about that so much. I was like, what do you mean I'm having Christmas as an adult? But now I'm an adult having Christmas, I'm like, I don't care about presents. Like, I'm gonna be— I'm writing, trying to write a Christmas list. I'm just like, I don't really know what I want. Am I like actually mature? Am I actually like grown up? Like, I don't want anything for Christmas. That was crazy to me. But anyway, this is just gonna be a short video, and I apologize if it's a bit waffly. Like I said, I just wanted to make it because I know a lot of people actually related to what I had to say back then, and it is crazy for me to be— see myself in that video like worrying about turning 17, never mind 18, fretting about getting there. And now actually being there, I feel like I should almost feel a bit called out by my younger self or a bit offended, but like, I don't. And I still relate to some of the stuff, but again, life goes on and you're 18 and you can actually do so much more than you used to do. And actually, age doesn't come up that much. Like, I'm over here obsessing about age. I obsessed about age so much, and like, now I'm 18, it's like, oh cool. It doesn't mean anything less, it doesn't get you any less praise, like, you're still good at what you do, Tilly, and I want you to know that. And anybody else who related to that and needs to hear that, like, your age doesn't make you more impressive, it's your skill, and you have that, okay? I don't know what that number is. Birmingham? Maybe it's the guys from Tenerife? I'm not picking up. While I am still a bit like Ooh, it's not really sinking in that I'm 18. Like, I am so excited to just spend the next year doing what I want to do, having fun, partying. Because I'm not gonna lie, guys, I thought I was an introvert, but I really enjoyed that. Like, I feel like— ah, this is a tangent now— but I feel like I set my standards too high by going clubbing in Tenerife, because then I went out in the UK and in my home little town as well, and I was like, what is this? I was like, this has nothing on Tenerife. So that's actually a curse I've put on myself. This year, or well, for next year that I'll have to try and work through. And I'll keep you updated with that if it gets any better, because I'm sort of just feeling like I need to go on holiday in every place in Europe and go clubbing there because Europeans just do it so much better, you know. But yeah, anyway, excuse the tangent. I'm super excited to go about next year being 18. I feel like there's really no limitations, and any sort of like box I put myself in, I feel like I have that like strength and courage in I guess just the confidence to be like, no, this is a box I've put myself in because I'm 18 and I have these crazy ambitions and I'm the person who can act on them now, you know. Plus I'm not too worried to turn 19 because I feel like once you turn 18, like, 19's like, I'm just 19, you know. I suppose it's the last teenage year. See, this is what I do, I freak myself out when I really don't need to. Yeah, I'm excited to be 18. I'm just gonna live life to the fullest, and I'm gonna take my career and my life fully into my own hands because I'm deemed responsible enough to do that now, guys. But also, I'm not gonna let myself change. I'm not gonna let myself, like, feel like I need to act a certain way or act more mature. Deep down, I am still just a big fat kid, and I feel like the people who accept that about themselves are genuinely, like, the best people. So you'll still see me on here making, like, stupid little jokes. And you'll see me on like TikTok wearing like tutus and whatever, just because I can do what I want. Because I woke up on my 18th birthday and believe it or not, nothing changed. Like nothing ever changes every single year, but I still psych myself up. So if you're watching this and you're turning 18 or any of those other years, or even 20, like from like Tilly back there who was also frightened to now Tilly in the future, I'm telling you, younger Tilly, and anybody else watching It's okay. And 18 is pretty fun. At least it has been so far. There was some antics in Tenerife, guys, I can't lie. But yeah, I really hope you enjoyed this video. I'm probably gonna have some fun editing this. I really hope it's not all just waffle, because this is what I do. I set the camera up, I waffle, and then I have to find a video in that, pretty much. But I hope this was interesting or helpful in some way. Thank you so much for watching. Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe if you liked the video. Follow me on socials, I'm very, very active on there. And I'll see you all next time. Hi.
