Everyone wonders when they’ll truly start to feel like an adult. Will it be when you turn 18 and the law declares you an adult? Will it be that first night at college, away from your parents for the first time with newfound freedom? Maybe it's when you turn 21 and can finally legally go out to drink at the bars. Maybe it will be when you rent your first apartment or buy your first car. Or it could be the first time you experience real heartbreak, or when you’re finally kicked off of your parents’ health insurance. For everyone, their first taste of adulthood is different, yet for some reason it’s hard to feel like you’re actually growing up. Here are 15 signs you notice as a 20-something that may point to the fact that you actually are indeed becoming a (sort of) grown-up:
1. A kitchen full of dirty dishes gives you anxiety.
2. You’ve found the best way to relax is to light some candles, pour a glass of wine, and curl up with a good book.
3. You have gone to the bars in your sweatshirt with little to no makeup on, probably multiple times because who cares what you look like? You’re here to drink with your friends and eat the shit out of that free popcorn!
4. You pay for your own rent, electric, and groceries.
5. When you flirt with someone, you find yourself subconsciously looking for a wedding ring…you may also contemplate if they’d make a good dad.
6. Every time extended family and family friends see you, they ask you what you plan on doing with your life after graduation. They also continually ask if you’ll be graduating on time.
7. You are or have been single and actually okay with it. Possibly even enjoyed it.
8. You’ve discovered cleaning can be fun! Just crack open that bottle of wine and dance to some '90s music.
9. Speaking of the '90s… "Friends" is a painfully accurate representation of your life, although you can’t help but watch it over and over again (secretly Rachel Green is everyone’s spirit animal).
10. You’ve begrudgingly realized that your parents were right about a lot of things, and may even have started to admit that to them.
11. You’ve seriously contemplated the future and what you want out of life.
12. Grocery shopping is actually fun! Until you get to the checkout, because let’s face it you’re broke.
13. Going to bed early is a necessity and you no longer feel lame calling it a night at 9 p.m. on a Friday.
14. You’ve had conversations with more than one friend who is dangerously close to being engaged, and those conversations have seemed normal.
15. Taylor Swift lyrics will always and forever speak to your soul.
Sometimes it’s hard to feel any older and wiser. Graduation may be looming, and you may feel like you haven’t got a clue most of the time. But we’re all in the same boat together, trying to figure life out. And in the wise words of one of my all time favorite shows, NBC’s "Parenthood," “Nobody ever feels like an adult, that’s the world’s dirty secret."