It was a typical Tuesday morning. I was driving to school, listening to my jams, nothing special, but there's this thing that sometimes happens when you're stuck in traffic called - thinking. This led me to a long reflection about my life and to where I am today. I realized I had grown up.
We have this list of things that are our right to passage into adulthood. The typical stuff for example: get your driver's license, get your first car, apply to college, dorm, get your first job, start paying bills, etc. (btw: this is no particular order)
These moments fly by so fast and feel surreal when they're happening but one day you're driving and it kind of just hits you. You've made it through most of your list, if not completed it, and now you're basically an adult.
My younger sister is turning 17 and about to enter her senior year. Every time we talk about it, I always say "When did you grow up?" because in my eyes she'll always be my (annoying) little sister. She always replies with "You're already a grandma though" (please keep in mind we're 3 years apart here), and we just go one like that. It usually leads to a conversation of how we're growing up.
I don't know if it's just me but there are just certain moments when I realize I'm an adult and it's crazy to me. It feels like it all happened so fast and that it wasn't this huge life change - like I expected - but everything just happened so gradually and subtly.
I remember how nervous I was about my driving test and how surreal college graduation was. I remember the anxiety of choosing the right university to go to and the craziness of moving into the dorms my freshmen year. All these things like getting my first car and first job, they're etched in my mind. All these milestones have happened and looking back it felt so natural and I just eased into adulthood.
And as I've gotten older I've gotten way more responsibilities. I'm working and studying. I kind of know what I want to do career-wise. I drive and pay for things. But the thing is I don't know where the time went or how I got here so fast. I'm so grateful for the life I have but man does time really fly. We're all growing up. I see my friends at their universities and jobs. I see peers doing internships and we're all just growing up. We're going into the real world now and we're all just kind of winging it.
I can't help but feel a little nostalgic of the days that have gone by.
