Growing up is hard but being a grown-up is definitely harder. As someone who has been legally considered an adult for a few years now and is about to graduate college, I've noticed that the struggle of adulting has become far too real. Here are 10 major struggles of people who are in their early 20s.
1. The Big Questions
Suddenly you're done with school, maybe forever, and have been thrown into the deep end of the adult pool. Massive life questions are beginning to come up. What do I want to do with the rest of my limited time on this planet? Do I want to marry? Should I move? Should I go to grad school? Do I travel now or later? Should I quit my job? Should I take risks in hope of finding something better? These are all massive and like a large looming cloud that is always lurking overhead. What is happening? What are we all doing? And perhaps most importantly, how can Sandy play the sax?!
2. Post-grad debt
Post-grad life is super weird, especially if you're like me and are currently in a weird limbo because you haven't walked yet, although you have technically completed your degree. I still feel attached to my college and like I haven't really left. I still feel like a student but I am not. I still want to learn and wear my little beanie with my school logo on it. And the more time passes us, the closer we get to student loans kicking in... at least we'll only be paying those for a few decades, right?
3. Taxes
Out of all the things I learned in school, this would have been something I could've handled being added to the curriculum. So glad I learned how to multiply numbers and letters together instead of how to fill out a W-2 form. Sure there are easy versions of it and websites that make the process simpler, but you can bet your bottom dollar I'm calling my mom about them at least twice. Realistically, she'll probably end up doing them for me just like last year. #fml.
4. Paying Rent
Paying rent, especially when living in a major city, is like taking the majority of the money you make at your crummy part-time job and throwing it into a fire before you even remember that it's payday. Chances are pretty high that you still have more than one source of income, and one of those might even still be good old Mom and Dad.
5. The Desire To Have A Puppy/Kitten
The latest Internet craze is filled with adorable little animals and, I don't know about you, but this makes me want to adopt so many animals so badly all of the time. The problem with this is that I can barely take care of myself so there's no way I could care for another, especially without puppy health insurance. Those bills are expensive. Look at those little faces!
6. Figuring Out How To Adult
Suddenly, things that used to be dealt with by your parents are magically appearing throughout your life. You are faced with the daunting tasks of setting up your own doctor and dentist appointments, getting your car maintained, buying relatives presents for the holidays with your own money and booking your own flights. This isn't fun.
7. Nostalgia
Compared to all of this unknown territory, your childhood (or frankly even last year) is starting to look a lot easier than your present situation. Can't we all just go back to the days of dancing to Backstreet Boys' "Everybody" in our unfinished basements? Also, what happened to all of our favorite classic TV shows? Truly, where did the '90s go?
8. People you know are getting married and having children, and you're still only committed to your favorite alcohol.
When I hear that people my age and younger are doing this, it mainly results in me staring at my computer screen in disbelief and also wondering if maybe another 10 years is too late to jump on that bandwagon. It's all happening too fast!
9. You start drifting into the "homebody" category of human existence.
You start to party and socialize less than you used to. Is this because you're constantly working, because there aren't as many parties as there used to be or because you'd rather stay at home in bed with Netflix? The world may never know.
10. Every so often it will feel like life is punching you in the face.
And my personal favorite:
All we can do is keep getting back up! These are tough times, but we will figure it out... probably.
