As young adults, we are stuck somewhere between the world of hormonally challenged teenagers that think they know everything and the world of grown-ups that actually seem to know what they're doing. Thankfully, we no longer reside in the terrifying world of high school, but we have yet to earn the title 'adult'. We are still young and in the process of learning how to adult and if we're being honest, often we have no idea what we are doing or how we ended up with $3 in our bank account. While I definitely don't have all the answers, below is a list of tips that I believe will help us struggling young "adults" succeed in the demanding world of grown-ups.
1. Adapt To The World Of Professionalism
As a sweatpants enthusiast, it pains me to write this but showing up to a professional setting wearing sweats and a baggy t-shirt is frowned upon. The way you present yourself says a lot and first impressions are more important than you might think. Dressing appropriately is a key element to being a professional in the adult world. Not every setting you're in will require a formal dress code, but as long as you look like a bathed human being with respectable clothes you'll be fine. Besides your clothes, your attitude and the way you respond in an environment with other people also reflects your professionalism. Remember that one kid in class that talked back to the teacher and made everything difficult? Yeah, don't be that kid. Treat everyone with respect and you won't have any problems getting along with people.
2. Organize Your Time Wisely
In college, you will always find yourself struggling to make time to do everything and most of the time you probably end up overwhelmed. The best way to make sure you have time to get your work done and be able to do what you want in your free time is to organize your schedule. Set specific times dedicated to doing your school work and spend the other times either relaxing or hanging out with friends. You'll feel less stressed about getting things done on time and you'll be more successful in your school and work career if you have a more disciplined way of avoiding being overwhelmed.
3. Being Responsible With Money
As every college student probably knows, being broke is not fun. You end up being the friend that can't go out or even worse, you run out of food so you're stuck eating food from the cafeteria. Saving money is hard when the temptation to spend it is always around you. By giving yourself a budget and spending money on necessities before anything else, instead of being the broke college student with debt, you'll just be the college student with debt! I call that a win.
4. Let Go Of Stress
Being a college student comes with lots of responsibilities, and with responsibilities comes stress. When we become stressed, our mental and physical health gets harmed by the way we start to eat, sleep, or overall behave. Feeling overwhelmed is a part of life and there is no way to avoid that, but we can change the way we handle stress. Instead of letting stress take control, find a moment to just sit down and take a breather for a while. It's okay to pause life from time to time. We all need rest whenever life throws us curveballs and sometimes that means letting go of what worries us. The next time something becomes overwhelming, find a place to sit quietly and tell yourself it will be okay, because it will be.
5. Embrace Your Youth
When it comes to being an adult, knowing how to manage our finances and organize our time is essential to being successful in life. But what I think is perhaps the most important part of being an adult is the part of us that remains young.That's the part that will forever know the lyrics to any Disney song ever made or the part of us that still wants to be a superhero. The memories we hold onto aren't of paying taxes or making a doctors appointment. We remember building forts out of couch cushions or getting hurt doing something stupid but smiling because it was worth it. The sad truth is that we can't stay kids forever; someday we are going to become adults and learn what it means to be an adult. But being an adult can be more than just the responsibilities that come with it if we embrace the part of us that is still young.
Now, time to go adult!
