College is a weird time. You're supposed to be learning how to be an adult, now that you're 18 and off on your own, but it's also the last time you're allowed to be doing dumb things and acting like a kid. It's a weird middle phase where nothing makes sense and you don't know who you are.

The goal overall, I think, is to become more mature and independent. I love being independent (well except financially independent, that's still a ways off) but being "mature" is hard.

Here are 6 things I've done or experienced that make me feel like I'm 2% of an adult so far.

1. You finally set up LinkedIn.

https://giphy.com/gifs/vh1-basketball-wives-bbwla-3o7TKH1WnV4RbuTHhK

It was long overdue, I already had a resume and about 100 different cover letters, it was time. College is now all about branding and building a resume and trying to be worth hiring when you graduate. A LinkedIn is just another step towards being a real working adult. I don't even have a profile picture but I have an account! So that's something...

2. You wake up before 9 AM by choice.

https://giphy.com/gifs/seeso-snl-saturday-night-live-andy-samberg-3o6Zt6Jdnh4pbBqUUM

I've started setting alarms so that I get out of bed by 9 or 9:30, even when I don't have things to do early in the morning. I feel a lot better, get a lot more done, and fall asleep easier, but I feel old! I used to sleep in till noon or later, but the idea of doing that now sounds terrible. I just feel like I lose so much of the day, and it makes going to sleep the next night impossible.

3. High school kids annoy you.

https://giphy.com/gifs/B87MMKCgnMHok

The other night my friends and I went to a bowling alley, and this group of about 5 high school aged girls were acting so ridiculous. They were practically throwing themselves down the lane and when they left the parking lot they were blasting rap music and acting like they were the biggest deal. I'm pretty sure we did the same thing 4 years ago, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes at them and smile when they were gone.

4. IKEA sounds like a theme park.

https://giphy.com/gifs/ikea-Js9wn1iDGPaE

When my mother came to visit me at college, she really wanted to go to IKEA. I thought it sounded a little silly, but I'd never been so I thought it might be fun. I had WAY too much fun. I loved looking at all the cooking utensils I don't know how to use and I started planning all my future apartments. If you asked 13-year-old me to go furniture shopping, and you didn't mean bouncing on mattresses, I had no interest. I opened every cabinet and drawer and we spent hours at IKEA.

5. A night in sounds great.

https://giphy.com/gifs/bed-kirsten-dunst-lounging-xT1XGTdRgc7zXzgpBm

Every now and then, the idea of going out and having fun sounds exhausting, but sitting on the couch rewatching Marvel movies sounds fan-freakin-tastic. I don't know where some people get the energy to go out every single night, I'm too old for that (at 19).

So I'm still pretty far off from being a full on adult, but I'm getting there. LinkedIn and grocery shopping are no longer barriers that hold me back from feeling independent. Learning to pay taxes though... that's a battle for another day.