Ever since childhood, we all dream of the day we grow up and become “real” adults. We see college-aged students, and long for their independence, admiring their maturity. We see our parents as super heroes, believing that they have all the wisdom in the world. Then, reality hits. We wake up one morning, in our cold, overpriced apartment, to realize our alarm never went off. We trip over dirty laundry as we race to the door, off to a job we hate. With no time to comb our hair or brush our teeth, our only good jacket hanging off one shoulder, we think to ourselves, “Why did I ever want to grow up?”
Truth is, when we were kids, we never knew what it would really be like to be an adult. We saw “grown ups” and thought, “Wow, they really have it all figured out.” No one ever warned us about how hard it was to have to do everything for yourself, or how lonely things could get. We never saw the side of our parents they let out after we went to bed, when they would sit up late worrying about how they were going to pay the bills because the college degree they spent so much money on didn’t pay off the way it was supposed to, or the two jobs they worked almost endlessly didn't put enough bread on the table. There were no signs on the road to adulthood saying, “SLOW DOWN,” and when we heard those words out of the mouths of our elders, they carried about as much weight as a feather.
Now, here we are, as adults. We cook and clean for ourselves, we work or go to school, we make our own decisions. And while the freedom can be great, it can also be really scary. We turn to books and internet articles giving us advice on things like “how to adult,” because we are unsure we have the capability to do as good of a job as those we saw when we were young.
Well, I’m here to tell you that no number of pages you read on “adulting” will magically turn you into the grown up you feel you should be. Because in reality, we are all secretly still the little kids we were over a decade ago, simultaneously intrigued and intimidated by the world around us. We now see that our superheroes --- our parents, celebrities, teachers --- are all putting on the same act we are trying to perfect: The act of seeming like you have it all together when in reality, you haven't a clue which way is up.
Now, I know that may sound morbid, but I am also here to tell you one last thing: That feeling of fear and uncertainty? That’s okay. That’s actually normal. And you are not the first, nor the last person to feel like you are barely holding on by a thread. Truth be told, no one really knows what they are doing, and you realize this slowly as you come into your own. We are all amazing and wonderful and afraid, just trying to figure out this journey called life. So take a deep breath, count to three, and move forward, one step at a time. I promise, you are “adulting” just fine.
