I am 20 years old. I have legally been an adult for 2 years and going strong. At this age it's hard though, because we are looked at by the world as adults, and as the stress builds I feel more and more like a lost child. There are times when my mom and I go shopping and I see this purse that is super cute but it looks way too grown up for me. Which when you think about it is weird, because technically I am a grown up. You come to a similar realization when your friend is about to graduate in May and he/she is being put out into the adult world. It's times like these that make us question if we are actually ready for adulthood. The answer is probably, most definitely, "no."
Many times we look to our older siblings, cousins, even our aunts and uncles and think that they are so much more grown up then us, but when you take a step back, it may only be the difference of a couple of years. Growing up is a hard concept for our brains to grasp sometimes. It requires a bit of giving up in order to move forward. We have to give up our younger ways in exchange for new, more mature ways of living. That can be a terrible thing. In many ways, it can feel as if you are losing control of who you are.
It's always going to be hard to let go of parts of your life. Moving forward is an incredibly scary concept at times, but it can also be a beautiful one once we change our perspective. If you feel as if you are giving up parts of your life, then it's going to a be a much more difficult transition. But if you look at it as a way to gain new adventures and experiences, it becomes something grand to look forward to. Either way you look at it, it won't always be easy. I'm learning that growing up is a big trap! No, I'm only kidding. Growing up is the experience of a lifetime, because it is a lifelong process.
Becoming a real, full-fledged adult is going to be terrifying, and I feel for those of you who are graduating. You will no doubt be experiencing this very soon. Nevertheless, with that comes all the things you have dreamt of as a child. For me, becoming an adult means that, God willing, I will get hitched and start a beautiful family of my own. It means that I will have life a lot more figured out than I do right now (and probably a lot more money, too). This brings on things we have been learning since we were little kids. For most girls, we've been playing house and mom for as long as we can remember. We have been training for this, and finally it will be our turn to experience it. The freedom we had in college will be gone because we will be flooded with new responsibilities, and that will definitely be hard to deal with.
If we remember that one day, in the near future, we are going to have to move on from the way we live now, it can help us to live better in the moment and appreciate the time that we have. Focus on making each and every day count. Maybe by thinking that way, we will never lose the child inside all of us, and we will never lose what makes us shine.
