Entertainment

Kendall Jenner Says She "Grew Up Too Fast"

by Jaclyn Anglis

She's a high-fashion model, a reality star, and the new face of Estée Lauder — and only 19 years old. As part of a group of personalities chosen to write op-eds on the topic of youth for the Wall Street Journal, Kendall Jenner wrote that she "grew up too fast." Whoa! That seems like a pretty big statement to make, especially since she isn't even in her 20s yet. Through text, it also reads as quite sobering and somber standing on its own, as if she regrets it. So at first glance, it might seem like the star is trying to send a cautionary message to young fans in her piece.

She says,

I feel like I grew up too fast a long time ago. Having older siblings, you grow up around adults, so you mature more quickly. I saw my sisters and parents working every day, so I was pretty much brought up to be a workaholic. But I just turned 19 a couple weeks ago, and I’m scared to be 20—it’s the first step out of being a teenager. My sister Khloé always says to me and my younger sister, Kylie: You have your whole life to be an adult but only so long to be a kid. And we get it. In the right situations, I try to be as immature as I can sometimes—react to things as if I were 12. You can’t take things too seriously.

After reading it, though, I don't that Jenner's trying to tell some kind of cautionary tale about the evils of adulthood or that she's trying to say that she regrets her quick rise to stardom through appearing on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, partying with stars, and hitting the runways at an early age. After all, she's been very successful in her line of work and standing out amongst fellow members of the Kardashian-Jenner empire.

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Rather than caution her fans, it looks like she's trying to serve a dual purpose in her writing by explaining where her work ethic came from and serving a reminder to her younger fans to enjoy their youth while they still can. And at age 19, it looks like Jenner realized at a good time that she still has some time to kick back and have some fun and time to herself, too. (When she's not causing a stir by wearing a structured Balmain dress or a daring double-slit gown, of course).

If there's anything we can take away from Jenner's op-ed, it's that we should all take the time to appreciate having fun now and then, regardless of our busy schedules and hectic lives. Because the advice Khloé gave to her was true. If you think about it, we have the rest of our lives to completely grow up.

Image: Getty Images