I fondly remember being 16, having no bills to pay, no worries about credit history or loans, and being so ready to become an adult.

Now that I’m 24, I want to travel back in time to slap my teenage self in the face. No matter how hard I try to remain inside my careless and ignorant bubble of bliss, I find more and more reasons that adulthood is coming for me, whether I like it or not.

1. Every other Friday when I get paid, feel Oprah-rich for about 3 minutes, and then have a good cry when I remember all the bills that come out of this paycheck.

2. The first time I scheduled a doctor’s appointment for myself…and every other time afterward.

3. When I have to buy clothes for work, because apparently ripped jeans and oversized hoodies are considered unprofessional.

4. When I bought my first car at a dealership…immediately followed by when the first loan installment was due

5. When I got my first credit card, first credit limit increase, and first outstanding balance over $1000 with no idea how I’d ever pay it off.

6. When I finally did pay it off...and cried several tears of joy.

7. When I realized that no one can stop me from eating cake for dinner if I want to.

8. And when I discovered that there was a good reason my parents stopped me from eating cake for dinner.

9. When I became excited for the weekend newspaper. Not for the comics, but for the coupons.

10. The first time someone younger than me called me “ma’am”.

11. When I had to schedule, sit through, and pay for all the maintenance joys that come with owning a car, like an oil change….or a brand new engine.

12. Every month when my student loan billing statement pops up in my e-mail like a present from the Devil himself.

13. When my hangovers were no longer cured by a greasy breakfast and suddenly required 3 greasy meals, an IV drip of Gatorade, and several naps.

14. When the Self-Help books I “would never need in life” suddenly took up 90% of my Amazon cart.

15. Every time I check my 401k and calculate exactly how much more time before retirement…my last estimate was about 75 years.

16. When I reunite with long distance friends from high school and suddenly realize that yet another year has passed since graduation.

17. The first time someone pointed out that next year I’ll be one-quarter of a century old. Get out.

18. When I understood that my worst day is someone else’s best day and sweating the small stuff is unimportant.

19. When I willingly spent Saturday night in bed with my good friends, Netflix and Pillow, instead of out at the bar.

20. When someone tells me that I’m doing a great job and that they don’t know how I handle everything so well and I literally have no idea what they’re talking about.