Sometimes, in between move-in day and the final semester, you start to realize that sooner rather than later, you will have to make adult decisions. We aren’t little kids anymore. By college, we are learning how to “adult.” Whether you realized after making a big purchase without mom or dad's money or you need a job to pay for most, if not all, your expenses, it has finally set in on you that making adult decisions means responsibilities and will-power.
In some cases, probably most, people don’t know how to start being an adult and making those tough decisions. You ask yourself, “Do I buy these cute clothes, do I buy this bottle, or do I invest my money?” The adult world seems confusing. We think that college or high school is supposed to guide us in our transition from adolescence to adulthood, but in reality all we have learned is that the mitochondria is the power house of the cell.
Luckily, we have our parents to guide us along the journey and to teach us how to file taxes, how to set up a checking account, how to succeed in an interview and make a decent resume. But how far do our parents actually help us in the adult world? There comes a time when our parents won’t be around to teach us all the essentials of being adult.
In a short few years, or possibly right now, our parents are giving us more responsibilities and opportunities to show our willpower. There will come a day when college is gone and the real world has come. It’s our job to make sure we succeed in the real world. While a little help from our parents is bound to come every once in a while, the real world is our opportunity to show the world what we have learned. Everything we have done leads to a successful adulthood and decision making.
We come back to the idea of making adult decisions and the need for responsibility and willpower. We, as college students embarking on the adult world, need to take on responsibilities and test our willpower. Maybe we should just start with the small things and ask for help when we need it. Let’s start with staying in for a night to study, even though we might feel FOMO. Let’s start with doing our laundry even when we are back home for break. Let’s start by cooking a home-cooked meal for ourselves instead of going out every night.
Making those adult decisions comes at a cost, but it prepares us for the real world. The real world sounds awful most times, but it comes inevitably. But college is still college. It’s our duty to make mistakes, be courageous, take risks and have the time of your life. We only have a few more years or months of freedom without the costs of the real world. The adult world does not have any reminders; it’s up to us, and only us, to succeed. Don’t forget, the adult world is coming soon.
