Even though transition from childhood to adulthood happened quite some time ago for most of us, the everyday adult seems to still ride the struggle bus at times. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or be hard on yourself about. These things are a right of passage, people. So just own it!
1. You rarely have a clue what you are doing.
Although this holds to be true, that’s OK! It’s a part of the whole grown up thing. You learn as you go, right?
2. Number one sets the stage for number two. You must learn to wing it.
Since most of us don’t have any clue what we are doing, you develop the skill to just wing it. If you don’t know how, ya better ask somebody or just fake it until you make it.
3. You feel the need to simultaneously call your parents.
You begin to realize just how good you really had it while living under their roof. No bills, no worries. Then that frantic phone call happens when you find yourself questioning everything. Thanks, Mom and Dad.
4. You feel overly accomplished when there's actually food in the fridge.
Usually the fridge stays disconcertingly bare, but those days you hit the grocery store and load it up are like no other. There’s actually more than yogurt and string cheese for once (yes). Until it’s gone again…
5. You force yourself to go to bed at a reasonable hour.
You now know staying up late and getting up early will not happen as easily as it once did. Sleep is kind of important. Ugh, responsibility.
6. You represent yourself.
I have to now make sure I supply a card and present for family/friend celebrations. No more just signing my name on the card Mom got for Aunt Meg and nodding in agreement when she comes to tell me how much she loved our gift. I have been forced to fend for myself. Even if it’s something makeshift. It’s the thought that counts…
It’s not a question. If you’re thinking about skipping that cup of coffee for the day, think twice. You’ll regret it.
8. Panic.
That is all. You just completely, utterly panic. It could be about you getting a shell in your scrambled eggs that morning or even bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way to work. When you adult, you panic over a variety of minuscule things.
9. Your decision making abilities aren't exactly your strong suit.
Well, believe it or not, for most of our lives, a lot of choices were decided for us. Now, we have all of these things to decide and it can be a challenge. It’s just sort of bound to happen that a crappy choice will sneak in every now and then. Whoops.
10. You drink to numb the stress.
A nicely-made alcoholic beverage or two never hurt anybody. Sometimes it’s what you have to do to get through the day in one piece as an adult. Duh.
11. Putting up with all different kinds of people.
Well, we aren’t in high school anymore and you can’t just switch chemistry classes to escape your enemy. That means you have to deal and dealing is like, really really hard sometimes.
12. You are in fact, solely in control of your finances.
Yeah, so all of those nights out, random trips to Sephora and impromptu dinner dates actually will reflect in your bank account. Just saying. Sometimes we are too busy living in that moment to realize rent is due this Tuesday.
All in all, being an adult is a pretty rad thing. You have your freedom, your own life and get to make your own choices. At times things might get a little hazy, but you got it. Just remember to handle everything with grace and dignity… or panic and fear. The choice is yours.
