21st Birthday Sayings and Quotes

Turning 21 is a major milestone. For many it marks the official entry into adulthood and all the freedom and responsibility that comes with it. Celebrate the occasion with the collection of wise and insightful 21st birthday quotes below.

It is hard to deny , however that turning 21 in the age of the internet, social media, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence requires navigating through a world that's far more complex and changing at a faster pace than the one your parents encountered when they were your age. Ronnie Sellers
In the USA, at age 18, you can go into a voting booth and cast a vote to help decide who will be empowered to launch a nuclear bomb. However, you still cannot, in most states, walk into a bar and order a shot until you turn 21. Ronnie Sellers
Everything felt high-stakes and important, and every decision felt monumental. And yet, here I am 20 years later, and I literally have no memory of my 21st birthday. Emily McDowell
For my 21st birthday I was in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was my first pro-season and the first time I had been away from my college in three years. It may not have been a typical 21st birthday, but it was a critical year in my life and my career as I transitioned from student to professional athlete. Brian Dumoulin
My 21st birthday wasn't a big deal. I just went out with a few friends that night. I think I made it up for until I turned 22. Shane Gonzales
I was working at a summer theater when I turned 21. My birthday was on a day-off but we'd been scheduled to perform a few songs at one of the patron's parties. We were welcome to the food and alcohol which I took full advantage of, being 21. Stefanie O'Connell
By my 21st birthday I was still straight-edge. I didn't develop at all emotionally until I started drinking, smoking , and snorting things a while later, and even then it took a few more years before my self-awareness became useful for anything. Tony Tulathimutte
We are all heading there and not to have that birthday is not to have made it. Claudia Rankine
The only way to stay out of trouble is to grow old, so I guess I'll concentrate on that. Michael O'Hara (Orson Welles)
The older I get, the more things I gotta leave behind, that's life. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone)
Each year we spend on this earth provides each of us a litany of challenges. Some we succeed at quite easily, others we fail miserably; which makes birthdays a celebration not just of the advancement of time, but an acknowledgement that its progression is challenging, tiring, and mostly thankless. James Scheibli
Birthday wishes go astray, family members forget our birthday, or sometimes we just hate the fact that we're growing older. James Scheibli
It seems that the universal narrative about celebrating a birthday is that it's just a reminder that you're one year closer to death. James Scheibli
But birthdays truly are a cause for celebration. Life, to put it mildly, is tough. James Scheibli
The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life. Muhammad Ali
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. Oprah Winfrey
I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity. Tom Stoppard
Now that you're 21, nobody can tell you want to do, unless of course, you're married. Melanie White
Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself. Tom Wilson
At 16, you can drive. At 21, you can have a cold one. Do both at the same time and your present might not have a future. Greg Tamblyn
21 is a terrific age, maybe the best. Too bad you can't be that old for the rest of your life Greg Tamblyn
On the roller coaster of life, your 21st birthday is like being at the top of the first giant hill with your hands in the air and no lap bar. Greg Tamblyn
At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgment. Benjamin Franklin
Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again. Menachem Mendel Schneerson
At 21 your life is just beginning but cherish each day as the next 21 years will fly by before you realize they are gone. Catherine Pulsifer
Age is not measured by years. Nature does not equally distribute energy. Some people are born old and tired while others are going strong at seventy. Dorothy Thompson