According to Urban Dictionary, "adulting" refers to doing grown up things and hold responsibilities such as a 9-5 job, a mortgage/rent, a car payment or anything else that makes one think of grown-ups. Can I be the first to admit that college kids are the worst at adulting?
My best friend and I were having a conversation about renting out a house, and we thought we should make shirts that read "adulting". It's definitely a slap in the face when you begin to budget and you realize that the idea of renting a house is so much better than actually renting that house. Of course, you think of all the bills you have to pay, because you're used to paying bills, but when you add up the costs of furnishing said house, maintaining the yard, making a bed purchase, or a washer and dryer purchase, the numbers start getting a little scary. It gets even scarier when you start thinking about how much money you spend on groceries and how much money you spend on eating out alone, and how much money you spend on gas, to go to Dallas every other weekend. Then you start talking about savings, and how much backup money you should have just in case something unexpected happens. Neadless to say, adulting really sucks. Not that we won't ever think of renting that house, but we better have it together in order to do so.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just pretend numbers didn't exist, and instead just binge watch cartoons instead of going to work? Wouldn't it be nice If our parents still paid for our cell phone bills? Or if we still received an allowance?
Although that would be sweet, adulting has it's perks.
It feels great, when you feel like you're doing something productive. It also feels really great to be knowledgeable and realize that you're a much more independent person. I cannot tell you how excited I was the first time I ever filed my taxes alone. Today, not so much, but maybe next year I'll be happy about it again.
The first time you do something on your own for yourself feels great! The first time you make a huge purchase feels great. Just taking those steps on improving your future, such as building your credit, and the first time your parents give you props for doing a good job is all so rewarding and so worth the "adulting" effort.
No matter how much we want to remember our childhood, built a fort, and hold on to the fun things, it's always really rewarding to do adult things, because let's face it, we don't want to be the cast of step brothers. Adulting doesn't mean stiffening up and being boring, it just means you're responsible enough to also do those "adult-like things".
So, happy adulting college student- you can do it, just take small steps!
