Finally Sixteen!

What's that you hear? Is it a sound, a plane or the strangled meow of a cat trapped in my wardrobe? No, I think that you are listening to a different tune altogether: whereas your passion is dedicated to Radio 1, I'm following a station specially suited to my tastes. And my flavour of the day? The sweet, oh-so-delectable tang of turning sixteen!

As of yesterday, I'm a cool, nearly-grown-up sixteen year old teenager whose age automatically commands respect from those both younger and older than her. In many ways, I'm half-expecting my family to roll out a dusty red carpet for whenever I walk into the kitchen, even if I'm only pouring myself a glass of water. Well, why not? On what seemingly felt like yesterday, I was running around the house in a nappy, not yet struck with the curse of greasy hair (which sadly hasn't seized since coming-of-age), as a crazed toddler, but I've suddenly shot up into a young woman (as proud dads love to describe their scowling teenage daughters) and the remnants of my childhood are left behind like a lost teddy bear in a crowded restaurant.

Hmm, maybe it's about time that I do let go of the dreams conjured back in the days when Bratz dolls dominated my life - if I carry on clutching onto these unrealistic fantasies, I will never get the opportunity to walk down a red carpet for real! Anyway, feeling quite big - and ever-so-mature - brings about a sense of newness in my life which, a day on, I'm still getting used to. For a reason that I don't know how to explain (or simply don't know it full stop), I feel like there is something massively important about being sixteen.

Despite the many exams you sit, life-defining decisions you make and more responsibility that your parents grant you, I'm exposed to an atmosphere that suggests something far more exciting than all of those things are, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Is it the fact that I'm getting nearer and nearer to adulthood and further and further away from childhood? Or does my age represent how far I've come in this world, having once felt as though my years as a young child would never end? These are questions that I'm unsure as to how to understand, let alone answer; perhap I will eventually be able to find an explanation, but I'm less than 48 hours into the whole sweet sixteen charade.

On another note, I had a brilliant time this past weekend - even describing it as 'brilliant' doesn't truly give it justice! When I'm trying something new, I cannot resist getting tangled in a web that is sticky with the anticipation of stepping into the unknown; thanks to new experiences of late (even ones as minor as ordering a sub from Subway), I've become more adventurous and less wary of letting go of my comfort zone. Therefore, I had no qualms about trying Nandos - a popular restaurant chain originating from South Africa - on Saturday evening, having wondered for ages what all the fuss is about.

Renowned for its Peri-Peri chicken which, devastatingly for pork and beef lovers, only sells the well-plucked bird, Nandos had the air of a foreign set-up yet felt very family-orientated: upon walking into the premises, I was surrounded by young children and half-tired parents, who probably didn't seem excited about having to ask their bubbly children what they'd like to order from the Nandinos menu (the name of which I absolutely adored)! Having not inherited my mum's love for spice, my younger brother mainly kept his attention to the upcoming Chelsea match as I poured over the menu, practically licking my lips after ordering the No-Bones-About-It platter with the medium-flavoured spice. As daring as I was at the time, I knew better than burn my mouth off with the spiciest flavour that Nandos offered - in fact, printed on the napkins were the words 'tiny fire blanket'! Well, at least the local hospital wasn't too far away if my mouth was in such excruciating agony...

Overall, I was bawled over by the meal that I had at Nandos, which I'd totally love to go to again (perhaps when I've gathered the courage to go up a bar on the spice rating meter!) in the future. Like my brother said in between mouthfuls of his double chicken burger, the chips were nice - to be honest, you can pretty much tell how good a place is by the quality of the chips they sell. No wonder McDonalds are onto a winner with their classic fries! And, as a birthday is always about the sweetness, I couldn't deny my sweet tooth a little treat in the form of a small vanilla ice cream. Spicy, sweet and satisfying definitely hit the nail on the head: rather like myself if you think about it!

And, of course, how could Nandos dare to steal my birthday crown? The main event hadn't even started by the time I got home on Saturday night, on which my fabulous birthday cake - decorated with the most Maltesers and chocolates that any chocoholic could hope for - was baked to glorious perfection. That night, I was buzzing as loudly as a bee: very little could have dented the feel-good vibe that had built up within me by that point!

By the time that I woke up yesterday morning, I felt like I was living on another planet: could I, now a sixteen year old, really be living on Planet Earth? At nine in the morning, it was way too difficult to get my head around!

Anyway, the house was decorated with tons of pink balloons which had massive '16's all over them, and I nearly leapt out of my skin when I woke up during the night to find a tall balloon sitting beside my bed! Yet, like all gift-obsessed teenagers, what I was really looking forward to the most was opening my presents: how I waited for everybody to eat their breakfast so patiently was a miracle!

Obviously, I knew that I would be opening a box containing my fabulously new Sony smartphone, which I ended up opening first, and managed to resist playing on it... for around fifteen minutes. When duty - such as texting at a 100mph - calls, you can't ignore its annoying ringtone! In addition to it, I received tons of DVDs - when I say 'tons', five is my equivalent of an enormous pile - and several books, one of which I'm currently reading in English. To mark the oh-so-special occasion, I received this glamorous silver necklace that sparkled like a million jewels!

What more could I have asked for? I was absolutely thrilled with all that I received, including my very first lottery ticket which won me... £25!!! Although I'm now old enough to buy as much scratchcards and lottery tickets as I like, there is little chance of my spending all my pocket money on them, though I did strike very lucky for my first try!

Oh, how could I have forgotten the cake of all things? Without giving the game away, you would be very jealous of it - thankfully there is plenty left to last several days, so I shall be remaining quite merry for some time!

Here's to being sixteen and my first week in my new age - let it be a grand one!