“Adulting” is a term used by millennials to describe anything related to being a real adult.
The term can be used to describe calling and scheduling your own doctor’s appointment, paying a bill with your own money, handling a situation you would usually have asked your mom to handle, making a meal that was not pre-frozen or pre-packaged, and the list could go on. Lately, there has been a lot of backlash from other generations about our use of the term “adulting”. People claim that by using the term, we aren’t accepting the fact that these things we are doing are just a part of growing up- like every other generation has. However, I think this generation has grown up extremely differently than those before us.
Most of our parents completely moved out between the ages of 18 and 21, and were able to work to put themselves through college, and actually make that complete transition from teenager to adult. Today, we have it SO differently. We go off to college, and despite living on campus or in our own apartments, we still go back home for a full month over winter break, go home for entire summers, and we are staying on our parent’s cell phone plans, health insurance, and car insurance for extended amounts of time. We see ourselves as independent being away at college, yet we are still very dependent on our family members.
Our transition into adulthood has become a long and drawn out process. Each time we find ourselves in a situation in which we “adult”, we realize that we are one step closer to being a full-on adult. It is a scary, yet extremely exciting process. It can be hard at times, but it can also be fun and rewarding at the same time. So, to all of my fellow millennials out there, keep on adulting, and be proud of each new adult thing that you do!
